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Although most students see this upcoming Tuesday, November 3rd, as another day to rest their second quarter exhausted brains, the day holds greater importance. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is noted as Election day, the day in which Americans elect their federal public officials in the general election.
The voting process has already begun. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many states switched to automatically distributing mail-in ballots to all residents. In-person voting on Election Day is still offered as an option. With more voters opting to vote by mail, voter participation is projected to break turnout records. According to an article in The Hill by Jordan Williams, “Voter turnout for the Nov. 3 election in Hawaii has already surpassed the state's total voter turnout in 2016, with less than one week to go before Election Day.”
In the race for the presidency, there are four candidates that have qualified to run for President in most states.
Donald Trump currently is the 45th president of the United States. Trump's re-election campaign has focused on the economy, jobs, immigration, and foreign policy. [1] In Trump’s first term, his key policy initiatives were to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and First Step Act in 2018, reducing the size of the ISIS caliphate, and establishing the Space Force as an independent military branch.
Joe Biden, the democratic nominee, is a former Vice President of the United States. Biden framed his campaign as a challenge to President Donald Trump (R). "I believe history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time. But if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation—who we are—and I cannot stand by and watch that happen," he said. [2]
Howie Hawkins’ campaign is centered around his proposal for an ecosocialist Green New Deal, which includes an economic and environmental program. The Green Economy Reconstruction Program will not only build a 100% clean energy system by 2030 but will reconstruct all economic sectors for ecological sustainability, from agriculture and manufacturing to housing and transportation."[3]
Jo Jorgensen is the Libertarian Party representative. Her campaign is framed as an alternative to Democratic and Republican policies which she said created trillion-dollar deficits and led to involvement in expensive and deadly foreign wars.
To get a pulse on student opinion of the 2020 presidential election, a poll was emailed to Maui High students. The poll was optional, anonymous, and remained open to responses for three days. A total of 141 individuals participated. 31.9% of those surveyed were juniors, 28.4% were freshmen, 20.6% were seniors, and 19.1% were sophomores.
According to the Maui High student poll, of those surveyed, approximately 78% would vote for Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Many reasoned with their distaste for the Republican Party representative’s views and actions. “Joe has particularly shown great respect to the Black Lives Matter movement and to other minority groups that were affected by the Trump administration.”
Another 14.9% of those surveyed responded that they would vote for Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence. Many of those who would have voted for Donald Trump claim that his actions have been great these past four years. Many claims that the media does not portray Donald Trump in the right way claiming they are “are a bunch of liars.”
Around 5% of those surveyed said they’d vote for Howie Hawkings and his running mate Angela Nicole Walker agreeing with his idea of the “need to have a strong response on climate change, job creation, the adoption of Universal Healthcare, and an increase in the minimum wage.” Many also went with this decision due to their dislike of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Lastly, 2.1% of those surveyed selected Jo Jorgensen and running mate Jeremy Cohen because their beliefs line up with her policies and also due to the dislike of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Election day holds great importance to our country's future. If you are above 18 years of age and are qualified to vote, be sure to do so! For more information about the presidential candidates please visit https://ballotpedia.org.