Election day is coming up fast. Tuesday, Nov. 5 is the day that everyone will be on their way to the polls to vote for their preferred candidate. However, early voting is also an option that will start on Sept. 20 and end on Nov. 2.
Before you go to the polls in November, it’s important to know about the candidates on the ballot and what their visions are for the country.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic nominee in the 2024 Presidential Election. According to Harris’ official website, her four main goals include, “building an opportunity economy and lowering costs for families, safeguarding our fundamental freedoms, ensuring safety and justice for all, and keeping America safe, secure and prosperous.”
Some of the policies under these categories include making rent more affordable and making home ownership more attainable, restoring and protecting reproductive freedoms, making communities safer from gun violence, and supporting service members and veterans.
Former President Donald Trump, Jr. is the Republican Party nominee in the 2024 Presidential Election. According to Trump’s official website, some of the goals (called Agenda 47) are as follows: A focus on economic policies, immigration, healthcare, foreign policy, social issues, education, and law and order.
Some of his policies under these categories include tax cuts, completing the border wall to prevent illegal immigration, completely cutting Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act, prioritizing America in international relations, putting more conservative judges on the Supreme Court and supporting the Second Amendment (gun laws), closing the Department of Education and giving more funding to and supporting the police.
Choosing a candidate requires thinking about what one might want for the future. Voting not only impacts the future but also the lives of elders, friends, families and the future generations.
Everyone has probably been told at some point that voting is important. But everyone has their own point of view.
Larry Caldwell, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, gives his student perspective on voting and its importance.
“I think it’s very important for students to be very knowledgeable on who they vote for, so that they have an idea on what kind of future they want to build and what the next four years will look like for them going forward,” Caldwell said.
“I think that, especially for this year’s candidates, that it’s very crucial for my peers to vote for the president, because the presidential candidates have two very different views on how they want to run the country. And I think that whoever is our next president will shape our country in different ways.”
Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Sheren Sanders notes that young adults have a lot of impact on the vote.
“Well, historically it has been young people and students who have actually made the most significant changes, especially whenever it comes to voting and presidential elections. And, for HBCU students, that has been historically significant. Whenever we look to the Civil Rights Movement, it was the students at HBCUs like right here at Virginia State University that made the greatest impact,” Dr. Sanders said.
In the last presidential election in 2020, 71.5% of the entire Virginia population voted. 75.1% of the white population voted and 63.9% of the Black population voted. 68% of women reported voting and 65% of men reported voting in the 2020 election. However, younger people have a huge effect on the election results.
According to Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, it is estimated that 50% of young people, ages 18-29, voted in the 2020 presidential election, a remarkable 11-point increase from 2016 (39%).
Even though students have the power to dominate the polls, it’s important to make sure they stay informed. In the age of technology, websites and articles, both factual and fake, are easily accessible.
Dr. Sanders emphasizes where students can find accurate information.
“There are some legitimate websites that are out there that students or young people can go to, the NAACP’s website and Voting Matters’ website. You can actually go to the candidates’ websites themselves to see what their policy recommendations are, so that each person can ascertain what benefits them, and not listen to other people,” Dr. Sanders said.
While the upcoming election in November is especially polarizing, making sure you’re registered to vote is almost just as crucial as voting itself.
Checking if you’re registered to vote through Headcount’s website is extremely easy. Visit headcount.org and sign up to be put in a raffle to win different concert experiences from the world’s biggest artists.
Virginia residents can register to vote online at the Virginia Department of Elections website https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/Registration/.
Out-of-state students, can also register to vote online either using the state’s Department of Election’s website or by requesting an absentee ballot that you can mail in at https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/.
