The 2016 election was a spectacle that created a more polarized political climate than ever before. There were people sobbing in the hallways of my high school the morning after. The 2020 election will be very, very important, because it will show whether Americans can learn from their mistakes.
Currently, we have a President who promotes bigotry and hatred of foreigners, women and POC. He is someone who has condoned immigrant children being locked up in cages. He has a problem with the fact that a non-American film won the Best Picture Award. He is someone accused of sexual misconduct, fraud and bribery. This is the orange-faced man representing our country, and he should not be allowed to do so for four more years.
President Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate more than two weeks ago. You would think that being only the third president to ever have been impeached would hurt his following, yet his approval ratings have barely seen a change; in fact there was a brief rise to a 49% approval immediately after his acquittal. A man who has been under investigation for multiple acts of misconduct, in regard to his presidency as well as his personal finances, is still a very viable candidate for the upcoming election, with a high chance of winning.
There are three nominees left running for the Democratic party, and there is only one Republican running against Trump for the nomination. Does anyone even know who Bill Weld is? I had to search if anyone was even running against Trump.
In my opinion, here’s what the biggest problem of the 2016 election was (besides the electoral college overriding the popular vote, obviously): the division between democratic candidates. Hillary Clinton won the nomination over Bernie, and people were so upset that they did not vote. Or, they hated both Clinton and Trump, so they did not vote.
This time around, we need to weigh the options more carefully, and realize that every vote does make a difference. We need to make sure that we, and those around us, head out to the polls and vote so that at the very least, we don’t have a sexist bigot with a bad spray tan for a President.
Here’s a link to be registered to vote: https://vote.gov/
(If you’re registering in PA, remember that PA is currently a closed primary state! If you register as unaffiliated or independent, you cannot vote in the Democratic primaries!)
Here’s how to send in an absentee vote: https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/
Here’s how to track the 30 investigations going on against Trump: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/13/us/politics/trump-investigations.html