To be elected president, you must win at least 270 electoral votes. On Nov. 3, the U.S. presidential election took place, then on Nov. 7, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris reached 290 electoral college votes, while Donald Trump only had 232. Many states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona switched from red to blue.
Maria Volker, Spanish teacher, said, “I worked very hard on the campaigns and am delighted with the outcome.” She campaigned for Biden, Jason Crow, the democratic party and the AFT (teachers union) distributing campaign materials, phone banking and texting people to vote blue. “I believe we need to come together as a country and President-elect Biden is certainly the best person to do this. It is country first, not personal agendas. We also need to regain our position globally that has been shredded.”
The race to the presidency was very close. After nearly half of the states had all of the votes counted and the other half were still counting, on Nov. 4, at 2:30am President Trump said,“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win the election.” According to NPR, Trump is filing many lawsuits against states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and others due to his belief that the counting of the ballots had been fraud.
More people voted in this election than ever before. Mail in ballots played a big part in this. With mail in ballots being a new resource to vote with, some loved the idea, others hated it.
Louis Krauss, history teacher, said, “I did use a mail in ballot. I do believe that there needs to be more security and efficiency in the system. In past elections, and this one as well, I have received mail in ballots for the former owners of my house. Despite making this known to the secretary of state, they arrive every election. On the National level, I believe there needs to be at least a consistent due date and voter verification process, one that mirrors the in person voting process.”
Volker said, “I used the ballot but took it to the precinct and put it in the ballot box myself – the ballot box inside the building. Mail-in ballots reach many people; therefore, it makes it easier for them to vote, but the postal service must clean up its act. It is not the workers, but the administration that must be looked at. Why were machines removed right before the election delaying the mail service?”
There are a lot of mixed emotions surrounding the Biden-Harris win, ranging from many claiming voter fraud and that the election was rigged, to strong supporters parading through the streets and world leaders congratulating president elect Biden and vice president elect Harris on the win.
“The election illustrates how divided we are as a nation at this point. We had a record number of ballots cast, and the result was a 51% to 49% victory by Joe Biden. The problem for Joe Biden is that there is no understanding or empathy between America’s 2 dominant political parties. They hate each other and do so openly. Terms like radical, racist, socialist, misogynist, and un-American are thrown out carelessly to describe those who disagree with their views. When you view the “other” party as a threat to the nation, as an enemy, compromise is impossible. In a healthy Republic, the political parties should view one another as fellow countrymen with different opinions. Joe Biden’s challenge is to try and reverse the current narrative. I wish him good luck, but I am not optimistic,” said Krauss.
The inauguration of Biden and Harris will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
Volker said, “If I would be any prouder my chest would explode. Someone that actually looks like me as Vice President-elect! A woman, a woman of color, an immigrant, a wife! YAY! So many countries have had women as their leader, she is our start and it is about time. Reminds me of President Obama’s motto: YES WE CAN!”
Jordan Pazos, Staff Reporter
