Michigan May Tilt Democratic in 2020 Election Races

<p>Michigan’s election landscape still looks uneven, Matt Grossmann, director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Science, said in the monthly IPPSR broadcast that covered politics, economics and a new election “pick-em” game, <a href="http://www.electionmadness.org">Election Madness</a>.<br> <br> On the podcast, MSU Economist Charles Ballard projected a pickup in the economy late in 2021 or even by mid-2022 as job losses have worsened recently and further fiscal stimulus legislation stalls. <br> <br> Political scientist Eric Gonzalez Juenke was the October podcast’s featured guest. With Grossmann’s help, he created the game inviting policy wonks, researchers, faculty and students to pick Nov. 3 election winners in 21 races.<br> <br>Picks are due by Monday, Oct. 26. Juenke and Grossmann select the winners – in this game -- for honors only.<br> <br> At the same time, Michigan voters are casting ballots to elect president, U.S. Congress, state House of Representative, state Board of Education, higher education boards and local positions across the state.<br> <br> “More than a million people have already voted in Michigan, and we will expect those numbers to climb,” Grossmann said. <br> <br> Until 2018, Michigan voters had 30 days before a presidential election to register to vote. They could vote absentee only for certain reasons.<br> <br> In 2018, a Michigan constitutional amendment allowed absentee voting for any reason and empowered voters to register up to and including the day of election. Facing the pandemic coronavirus in 2020, Michigan’s absentee voters were encouraged to mail ballots or drop them off at drop boxes or in person at local clerk’s offices.<br> <br> With that change, “it’s really sort of uncharted territory for us,” Grossmann said. “But overall, (Vice President Joe) Biden is leading in the national polls. Democrats and Biden are both spending a lot more than Republicans. And the trends seem to be moving a little bit in the Democratic (Party) direction.”<br> <br> While Biden