Huge turnout, close race: The day-after lessons of Election 2020

Most pundits and pollsters badly miscalculated what would happen in this election. Amid the tense wait for an outcome, here are some upended expectations, false narratives, and new insights revealed by American voters on Nov. 3.

Mail-in, drop-off, in-person early, in-person on Election Day: Americans voted in astounding numbers in the 2020 election, with preliminary estimates showing the highest percentage turnout in 120 years.

But the hopes and fears that pushed so many people to cast ballots are deeply divided along partisan lines. The result seems almost certain to be...