The Red Mirage: Explained You may have heard the term “the red mirage.” No, it’s not a Star

The Red Mirage: Explained

You may have heard the term “the red mirage.” No, it’s not a Star Wars Jedi Challenge. Although to Democrats it’s the nightmare equivalent of a battle with Kylo Ren.

What is it really? It’s the impression on election night that Donald Trump is winning, when in reality the votes of many Democrats won’t have been counted yet.

Here’s why: In Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, all swing states, mail in ballots can’t be counted until election day. Due to COVID precautions, there are millions of mail in ballots and it looks like the majority of those are from Democrats. This is because Trump has discouraged voting by mail so it seems many republicans are voting in person.

Mail in ballots take longer to count than ballots that are cast in person. So the in person ballots, which will skew heavily republican, will be counted first. Which means they could be reported first. Leading to what looks like a Trump victory, the red mirage, when in reality it could turn blue once all of the votes are counted.

Moral of the story? Vote in person or drop off your ballot at this point no matter who you support! And prepare yourself: don’t expect to know the winner of the election on election night. It could take these states a few days to process all of the votes!

Want me to explain something else? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for watching.