The presidential election on Nov. 3 is one of the most important elections of our lives, not only because the Trump Administration continues to suppress some American’s votes, but because our own democratic system is at risk.
Due to the extreme political situations in America right now, more students and young voters are paying close attention to the 2020 presidential election. Reactions to Donald Trump’s Administration, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement are just part of the tipping scale that influences voters.
Trump’s Administration has made large attempts to undermine the mail-in ballot, as well as the United States Postal Service over the last few months. Because of the pandemic, casting a mail-in vote is the optimal way to ensure the safety and health of voters across the country.
“It’s not only our right to vote,” Crystallee Crain, political science professor at California State University, East Bay, stated in an interview, “it’s our personal responsibility to help create the society we want to live in.”
This election’s ballot will include multiple propositions, as well as candidates for local and state governments. California voters should pay attention to these propositions and the other politicians on the ballot because they have as big of an effect on millions of lives as the presidential election.
Laura Wing, another political science professor at CSUEB, has created a Twitter account where she tweets information about a proposition each day to act as an objective resource for her students. Her account can be found on Twitter as @realprofwing.
Watch our video of Wing where she discusses the election.
Many young, leftist voters in the country are unhappy with Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate. Joe Biden is that more traditional “mainstream” candidate, meaning his more central views do not receive a lot of support from these young voters, unlike Bernie Sanders and his die-hard supporters.
“I voted for Bernie in the primaries,” Kyle Estabillo, a junior at California State University, Fullerton, stated in an interview. “Even if Biden wasn’t my first choice, I’m still going to vote for him in November because I know it’s the better choice of the two candidates.”
This election is more than just republican versus democrat, but about the manner in which presidential policies will be carried out. It is imperative for voters to do their research about the ballot in order to best prepare themselves for November.
Here are important election dates:
Oct. 5 – In-person and vote-by-mail early voting starts in California.
Oct. 19 – Last day to register to vote.
Nov. 3 – Election day.