Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Election

By: Josiah Cook

Long before the 58th United States Presidential Election happened on November 3rd, 2020, politicians and news media predicted that it would take place under unprecedented circumstances. They were proven correct. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many Americans voted, as concerns about contracting the virus led to a record number of mail-in ballots. This new way of voting proved to be a subject of much controversy in political discourse that took place prior to the election. Supporters of mail-in voting argued that it was a simple and low-pressure way to make your voice heard from the comfort of your own home. Many people simply were not comfortable voting in public places where the risk was higher. Opponents of mail-in voting argued that votes were more susceptible to fraud and “ballot harvesting,” a practice of collecting other’s ballots and using them to vote multiple times. Regardless of the positive and negative aspects of voting this way, the election proceeded, and mail-in voting had a significant effect on how soon the nation found out who it had elected president. Those votes arrived in the hands of state and local governments after the election, and the nation held its breath while the results slowly trickled in. Another record was broken in this election cycle, and that was the number of young voters that made an effort to make their voice heard. According to an article by the Pew Research Center published on July 22nd. 2020, it was predicted that one in 10 voters would be from Gen Z. Young people were eager to vote in this election because they wanted to make sure that pressing issues that would affect them the most, like the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, and climate change were on the forefront of the agenda of the candidate that would be in charge of running the country. Wheaton North held a Mock Election on November 2nd, 2020, and 693 students cast their votes. When every vote was tallied up, Joe Biden got 58% of the votes, beating President Trump, who received 37.3%. As of writing this article, Wheaton North students have projected the Presidential winner for the past two elections. Along with that projection, students at our school projected Senator Durbin and Representative Casten to win as well. The only incorrect projection was that the Tax Amendment would pass, which it has not.

On Saturday, November 7th, after many states finished counting mail-in ballots, the results of the official United States presidential Election were in. Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden received the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. However, the current President was not too thrilled about this, citing voter fraud as the reason for his election loss. As a result, Washington D.C. is, at the time of this reporting, in an uncertain and tumultuous spot. The former President and his team refuse to admit defeat, and that is a roadblock to the start of Joe Biden’s career as president. The transition of power from the Trump Administration to the Biden administration relies on Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration. She is the head of the organization that keeps the government in functioning order, she must acknowledge Biden as the winner for him to receive all of the privileges and responsibilities as president. That has not happened yet, and as a result, the United States is swimming in another wave of uncertainty.