Each presidential election is separated by a variety of things, making it completely different than the last. The main difference we see is the candidates themselves. This year’s election has completely taken over Twitter, Facebook, and every other form of media you can imagine.
As we all know, we have two very different candidates running for president this year. Donald Trump, who has created a frenzy with his wild statements and ideas about social issues, and Hillary Clinton, whose reputation has been jeopardized after her private email server was discovered. No matter which candidate is elected for 2016 there will be a nation divided by strong opinions. What separates 2016’s election from any other will be the fact that we have a celebrity like figure, and a female running for president for the first time. We have sat and watched as history has yet again been made right in front of our eyes. I say yet again because it was only eight short years ago that we watched the first African American individual campaign and become President of the United States.
Although President Obama’s election was heavily publicized by the media, it’s safe to say that Election Day 2016 will probably overshadow the Election Day we once witnessed in 2008. We can expect to see an extreme overload of Facebook status’ and Twitter updates, I’m sure almost to an unbearable extent. It’s obvious this election has torn the nation apart in terms of opinions, perhaps more so than any other election; we can attribute this to social media.
Election Day 2016 will be the nation’s 58th presidential election. Many millennials (ages 18-35) have taken part in this year’s election and as it approaches, we see an abundance of ‘I Voted’ stickers proudly stuck to the shirts of our peers as we walk to class. Approximately 31 percent of 2016’s voters are millennials, almost mirroring the percentage of Baby Boomers. It is surprising, as a millennial voter myself, that the number of young voters is at this percentage. One common phrase that is heard during election season is “my vote doesn’t matter”. This mentality has left the impression that the responsibility of electing a president has fallen on adults older than 40, but recent numbers have proven that is not the case.
What does Election Day 2016 mean for the strong minded millennials? Does it mean that after every ballot has been counted and our President is elected, that some will believe that it is in fact true, that our votes don’t matter? Or that families will be packing up and leaving the country? Does it mean strong political wars between citizens and our government? It’s impossible to predict the absolute outcome, and as it approaches it seems surreal. In the end all we can ask is that we elect a president whose intentions are truly to improve the state of our nation in any way possible.