[direwolf]

So I keep seeing headlines saying that the GOP is closing the gap with voter registration, which seems frightening. But it also sounds like this doesn't necessarily translate into votes? Forgive me if this has already been discussed in the thread.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...tates-n1241674

In the last few weeks, Joe Biden has led President Donald Trump by a fairly consistent 8-point average in national polls and has maintained leads in more than enough battleground states to win the Electoral College, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all states Trump won in 2016.

But there are signs Trump's ground operation is paying off when it comes to registering new voters in key states, an advantage that could become important if the race tightens before Nov. 3.

As deadlines approach, new data from the past few months shows Republicans have swamped Democrats in adding new voters to the rolls, a dramatic GOP improvement over 2016, even if new registrations have lagged 2016 rates across the board. It's a sign that in a pandemic, Democrats are struggling to seize traditional opportunities to pad their margins, such as the return of students to college campuses.

Of the six states Trump won by less than 5 points in 2016, four — Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — permit voters to register by party. In all four states, voter registration trends are more robust for the GOP than four years ago.

Trump's voter registration edge alone wouldn't be nearly sufficient to offset the leads Biden is posting in polls of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and probably Arizona. But if the race tightens or there's a substantial polling error, Trump's superior base growth could make a difference in a few tight states — and call into question why the Biden campaign chose to forgo hitting the streets.