Two weeks until election day and everyone is still holding their breath.  2016 taught everyone to distrust the national polls as it became clear that Americans were in a surly mood, providing Donald Trump the ultimate victory.  But this year, especially at the state level, Joe Biden and the Democrats appear to be riding some sort of wave. While 2016 saw a 55.6% voter turnout, researchers are already calling for a voter participation rate over 60, maybe 65%.  Almost 30 million Americans have already cast their ballots – a record by any measure.  That number represents 20% of all votes cast four years ago, and the line-ups are still growing.  The last time an American election saw turnout over 65% was in 1900 – over a century ago.  This year's contest might eclipse anything in our memory. While it's difficult to tell who is voting for whom in these early turnouts, a recent study of 42 states revealed that Democrats are outvoting Republicans by a 2 to 1 ratio.  It appears as though some kind of thundering shift is taking place and that this contest could prove to be one of the most transforming in American history. We are tempted to see this as an ideological battle.  America has been so divided between the two parties that it remains difficult not to do so.  No doubt such sentiments will be front and centre as the election nears its final days.  That very partisan dysfunction has been largely responsible for the lowering of voter turnout over the decades.  Donald Trump has acknowledged as much, encouraging people not to trust the electoral process because he knows that he can win if fewer Americans show up. It doesn't seem to be working, and it's not because citizens have caught a sudden yen for ideological politics. They are showing up at advance polls because of other numbers that aren't about political support but the need for change and transformation. It's not hard to understand, when some 55 million Americans are now earning less than $26,500 a year – a steep decline from four years ago.  Eight million have fallen below the poverty line just since May, when the stimulus money dried up.  This especially holds true for minorities – groups that make up an even larger share of the voting public than four years ago.  A series of recent studies show that more Americans are experiencing poverty now than they did before the pandemic.  For Hispanic and Black Americans, this is quickly becoming their story.  One out of every 40 Americans who contract the virus die from it.  Already vulnerable prior to COVID, they have seen governmental support since August plummet, and for them Trumpian politics just isn't working out. Employment numbers aren't any better either.  The United States is 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic arrived.  That's a lot of families now struggling to survive.  The domestic economy is so fragile that employers either don't have the capital or the will to open up and take the risk of being shut down again.  Over 12 million American households now say that they can no longer afford their mortgage payments, meaning that an already dire affordable housing shortage is about ready to escalate. All of this has little to do with political leanings – Republican or Democrat – but, rather, the loss of a way of life already fragile prior to the pandemic.  America is losing ground, and while the Republican Party leans heavily on stock markets as validation of its economic clout, millions don't have enough money to fill the fridge.  Across the nation, the lineups at food banks are a very public sign that people now have more to think about than partisan games. The fact that the pandemic is now raging in some 40 states, just as the colder weather arrives, only spells tougher times ahead.  As in Europe and Canada, the rise in cases can only lead to a worsening economy and fading economic hope for tens of millions. Those struggling in such fashion might be the rank and file of the crowds lining up outside early polling places across America.  For them, it isn't about Trump mania or Democratic resurgence, but about food, mortgage payments, education for their kids, healthcare coverage, and just having a decent future.  These were the prime motivations for the expansion of democracy in the first place and such yearnings are becoming desperate. With all the turbulence in American politics at the moment, it could well be that it is this quiet cohort that will change the face of the country for the next stage.  They aren't showing up in demonstrations, violent outbursts in the streets, or even in media stories, but they are now appearing, millions of them, in lines outside the polls. It is unlikely that this new silent majority is motivated as much by morality or religion as it is by survival – the essence and drive of humanity from its beginning. A loud and obnoxious politics is just a distraction for them in their search for support, especially for their children.  To such people, an ego-centric and vain president might just prove too much.  We'll find out in two weeks. Glen Pearson was a career professional firefighter and is a former Member of Parliament from southwestern Ontario. He and his wife adopted three children from South Sudan and reside in London, Ontario. He has been the co-director of the London Food Bank for 32 years. He writes regularly for the London Free Press and also shares his views on a blog entitled “The Parallel Parliament“. Follow him on twitter @GlenPearson.