| US early voting turnout reaches record highs; a terrorist attack in Nice kills three people. Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg. | | | | | | | Early voting reaches record numbers, nears 2016 total votes in many states | | | | | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images | | - It appears that calls to get out the vote early are being heeded. After just 57.1 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in 2016, turnout could reach record levels this year, with many states' early voting numbers nearing their total votes from four years ago. [Vox / Jen Kirby and Roni Molla]
- Texas, which has historically had among the lowest voter turnout rates, has already received more early votes than it did total votes in 2016. This is especially surprising considering Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month restricted drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots to one per county. [Vox / Nicole Narea]
- Florida is also seeing high turnout, especially among young voters. Research from Tufts University shows that more than four times as many young voters in the state have cast early votes than in 2016. [WINK / Andryanna Shepard and Jack Lowenstein]
- Young voters as a whole seem more enthusiastic this year than in past elections. Eligible voters under 30 could break their record turnout of 48 percent, set in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president. Turnout among young voters was low in 2016. [Washington Post / Michelle Ye Hee Lee]
- On the surface, it would seem that this would be good news for Democrats, particularly in swing states like Florida. But in Miami-Dade County, Democrats are voting at lower rates than Republicans and lower rates than 2016, when President Donald Trump carried Florida. [Politico / Marc Caputo and Matt Dixon]
- Overall, early voting is a strong indicator of overall turnout, but does not really tell us much about the results. Democrats have an edge in early voting, but their lead is narrowing, and Republicans are more likely to vote in person on Election Day. [Vox / Jen Kirby and Rani Molla]
- Black voters will be a key demographic — they turned out in lower numbers in 2016 than in 2012. They could make the difference in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but they will have to overcome efforts to suppress their votes. [Vox / Sean Collins]
- Biden is counting on strong Black turnout in Milwaukee, Detroit, and Philadelphia to win back the three critical states Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. But some polls have suggested that Trump's share of the Black vote against Biden will be higher than it was against Clinton. [AP / Kat Stafford]
- The national record for voter turnout was set in 1908, but that could be broken this year. Data from the US Elections Project predicts that about 150 million ballots will be cast in 2020, representing 65 percent of eligible voters. [The Guardian / Joan E Greve and Maanvi Singh]
| | | Terrorist attack in Nice caps chaotic week for France | | - As France sees a surge in Covid-19 cases, a terrorist attack Thursday in the southern French city of Nice killed three people. The suspected killer is a Tunisian man born in 1999, authorities said. [NYT / Norimitsu Onishi and Constant Méheut]
- The suspect was armed with a knife and carrying a copy of the Quran, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor said. He arrived in France from Italy on September 20, and was recorded entering the Nice train station on Thursday morning. [AP / Lori Hinnant and Daniel Cole]
- French President Emmanuel Macron called for strength and unity after the attack. After a history teacher was beheaded by an 18-year-old man earlier this month, however, Macron promised to crack down on Islamic extremism. France is now facing a boycott of its goods in the Arab world. [The Guardian / Kim Willsher]
- Debate over free speech and Islam is at the center of tensions in the country. The caricatures of the prophet Muhammad the teacher showed his students came from the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine — the same publication targeted by a terrorist attack in Paris in 2015. [Vox / Alex Ward]
- Nice was also the scene of a terrorist attack on July 14, 2016 — Bastille Day. Dozens of people were killed, including children, when a 31-year-old Tunisian man drove a truck into a large crowd watching a celebratory fireworks display. [BBC News]
| | | | | | | Five states — Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota — will vote on marijuana legalization this year, and the measures in all five are expected to pass. | | | [Rolling Stone / Ryan Bort]
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At least six people have died in the wake of Hurricane Zeta's landfall on the Gulf Coast, and two million were left without power. [New York Times] -
Several counties that recently hosted Trump rallies saw increased rates of Covid-19 cases in the month after the president visited. Attendees have been packed tightly together, and few have worn masks. [CNN / Nadia Kounang] -
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea on Friday, killing at least 14 people in Turkey and Greece. At least 17 buildings in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, have been damaged or destroyed. [NPR / Bill Chappell] -
The US cited "credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation" in Tanzania after Wednesday's election resulted in the ruling party winning an overwhelming majority of seats in parliament. [AP / Tom Odula and Cara Anna] -
Latino Americans have died of Covid-19 at a disproportionately high rate, which for many of them gives new meaning to Día de Los Muertos, celebrated November 1 and 2. [ABC News / Stephanie Fuerte] | | | | | "We're seeing a very energized, interested electorate, and we're seeing a public, I think, that is responding to a message that you need to cast that ballot early this year." | | | | | | | | | | |
New York Magazine's Rebecca Traister and Vox's Ezra Klein explain how four years of the Trump presidency have changed the American people and their politics. [Spotify / Today, Explained] | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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