67% of the voting eligible population voted in the 2020 election. This was the highest percentage of the eligible population since 1900. The highest state turnout was Minnesota at 80%. The lowest state turnout was 55% in Oklahoma. Turnout in Georgia was 67%. [U.S. Election Project]
61% of Americans trust that the results of the 2020 election are accurate while 5% do not. 34% are unsure. This includes:
| Agree | Disagree | Unsure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 95% | — | —- |
| Republicans | 24% | 72% | —- |
| Independents | 67% | 5% | 28% |
[NPR/PBS/Marist 12/6/29]
It’s no surprise that President Trump’s endorsement during the election was the most productive. 75% of those who he endorsed were elected. Senator Bernie Sanders was the most useful endorsement among Democrats. 62% of those he endorsed were elected. (As a practical matter, most of the candidates who were endorsed by one or more of these folks, would likely have been re-elected without these endorsements. WW)
Endorsements
| Total | Won | Lost | Not decided | % that won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obama | 232 | 82 | 115 | 35 | 35% |
| Sanders | 202 | 125 | 62 | 15 | 62% |
| Trump | 181 | 136 | 49 | 5 | 75% |
| Biden | 50 | 12 | 21 | 9 | 24% |
| Pence | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70% |
[Ballotpedia 12/2/20]
By winning the popular vote by 4.5 points, President-elect Joe Biden improved on Hillary Clinton’s 2-point popular vote victory by about 2.5 points. With almost all state results certified, Biden improved on Clinton’s two-party share of the vote in 44 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. [Sabato Crystal Ball -Results as of 12/8]
Black Americans represented over 50% of Democratic voters in Georgia (state population is 33% Black), 20% of Democrat voters in Michigan (state population is 14% Black), and 21% of all Democratic voters in Pennsylvania (state population is 12% Black). [Brookings 11/24/20]
8-in-10 registered voters in the U.S. (83%) said in the summer that it “really mattered” who won this year’s presidential election, the highest share in any presidential election year since at least 2000. Two decades ago, only half of registered voters said it really mattered who won the Bush/Gore contest. [PEW 12/12/20]
The Winston Group did a study after the election in which they asked voters to rate 19 issues in order of importance. Eight issues are listed below in the order they were rated by Independents.
| Ind | GOP | Dem | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The economy and jobs | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Coronavirus | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| State of scientific discovery and innovation | 3 | 14 | 4 |
| Free speech | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Affordable Care Act | 5 | 15 | 2 |
| Issues related to police | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| Immigrant and border | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| Possible tax rate increases | 8 | 4 | 15 |
[WG Discussion Points 11/27/2020]
There were 120 statewide measures on the ballot in 32 states on November 3. As of November 20, 88 measures passed and 30 defeated with two yet uncalled. [Ballotpedia 11/20/20]
In an October survey, 8 in 10 registered voters who supported Biden and a similar share of those who supported Trump, said they fundamentally disagree with the other side on “core American values”. [PEW 12/12/20]
| Before Election | After Election (as of 12/14/20) | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senate | 53R-47D | 52R-48D |
| U.S. House | 236D-199R | 222D-211R (2 races not called) |
| State Leg. Chambers | 59R-39D | 61R-37D |
| Governors | 26R-24D | 27R-23D |
Cable TV was the most relied upon platform for election night returns. 30% of viewers relied on cable. 24% relied on news websites and 22% relied on national network TV news. Only 9% relied on social media while 2% relied on the candidate campaigns.
Democrats followed the election results more closely than Republicans. 75% of Democrats followed the returns constantly or fairly often. While the same can be said of 68% of Republicans. However, 54% of Democrats gave their news sources high marks while only 21% of Republicans held the same view.
After the polls closed on election day, 48% GOP/Lean GOP followed Fox News and/or talk radio almost constantly while 50% of Dem/Lean Dem followed CNN, MSNBC, NYT and/or WP almost constantly. [PEW 11/17/20]