When I woke up on Nov. 7, I was less than thrilled about the impending election. After the devastation of the 2016 presidential election, I was expecting the results to disappoint me, as they had last year. Not to mention the outrage I felt when I arrived at my polling place, only to be told I wasn’t registered at my new address and could not vote. I was terrified of Ed Gillespie becoming Virginia’s new governor, Congress becoming further gridlocked and I feared that our chances of turning over progressive legislation would be diminished.
While I was in my Her Campus at VCU meeting last week, I was watching the election results roll in and planning the quickest route to the airport with the cheapest airline tickets. The race was neck-and-neck for the majority of the meeting, and every time I refreshed my browser, my terror was seemingly being confirmed. A close friend of mine reassured me that Northam had it in the bag for Virginia governor and that I shouldn’t worry. But, then again, that’s what everyone said about Hillary. I decided to write about the election for my next article, whatever the outcome.
I was expecting my article to be a mass of depressing fears culminated into one big f*ck you to the Trump administration and whatever asshole republicans were elected into office. I figured my article would take no time as it would essentially be me examining my fears and analyzing what the result of the election meant for the poor, women’s rights, minorities, education, healthcare, etc. When it was finalized that Ralph Northam won and was Virginia’s new governor-elect, I was beyond relieved. I felt accomplished over the fact that the nation could come together as a collective in opposition of Trump, especially with the increasing turnout of young voters, as indicated by the chart below:
I’m also over the moon about the amount of “firsts” that were elected into office, such as Danica Roem, the first transgender woman to serve in a state legislature, Andrea Jenkins, the first transgender person of color to elected to public office (sweeping more than 70 percent of votes), Ravinder Bhalla who became the first Sikh mayor of New Jersey, Vi Lyles, the first black woman elected as mayor of Charlotte, NC, as well as copious other firsts. This election in particular was huge for the LGBTQ+ community. In order for legislation to be representative of all, it has to be designed by the group of people it is attempting to help. The representation that this election brought to LGBTQ+ issues alone is historical and indicative of the inevitable progress that will seep its way through the cracks of the faulty Trump administration.
It is imperative that the voting pattern of this election be maintained. No longer can we become comfortable with the ebb and flow of government, especially in times of progressive politics and decide against showing out for every election, as it would only result in the replication of the disastrous 2016 presidential election results. This election is proof that Trump and his band of misfit political lost boys cannot intimidate us, it is proof that no matter what, the people’s voice will be louder than any threat made by Trump on the wellbeing and livelihood of the American people. Not voting does not work, as evident from the 2016 election and our best weapon against the heinous policies Congress is attempting to pass is our votes and our voices.
Photo Credits: Cover Image, 1