Election season kicks off

LEIA LEHRER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

DARCY DAENZER
LAYOUT EDITOR

11/20/2023

Even though it is still about a year out from the 2024 presidential election, the time to start thinking about the issues that will be on the ballots is now, especially if it is anything like this past Nov. 7 election day.

While the most recent election covered local issues, it still has great implications for the results of the rest of the elections that will occur in the coming year.

For example, in Ohio, voters passed an issue that will protect constituents’ access to abortion. “It is now a winning issue for Democrats with polls showing that they are the more trusted party on the issue,” said Ben Peterson, Lecturer of History and Political Science.

“How that [will actually] play out is, of course, complicated by the many other realities of the political system and electoral cycle. But I do think we will see more states holding successful votes similar to Ohio,” said Peterson.

Furthermore, polls have already been taken in some key states to see who constituents would vote for between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. 

A New York Times and Sienna poll recently found that Trump is leading Biden in five critical states including, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania, with Trump only trailing Biden by two points in another key state, Wisconsin.

While these polls are important to determine voters’ opinions before the time of the election, they may not be indicative of the whole story. “I think it is important to keep in mind that this far out from an election people may be expressing a more general feeling rather than a specific voting intention,” said Peterson.

“Also note that most of those polls have been of registered voters, not likely voters, which can make a big difference in what the numbers actually mean. That being said, it is a troubling number for Biden and should definitely get his people thinking about failing in messaging,” said Peterson.

These numbers, which indicate that Trump is ahead of Biden by only a few points in each of the five swing states – who were all crucial for Biden in the 2020 election – still might change as it gets closer to Election Day 2024.

“A fairly recent Associated Press – NORC Research poll found that around 78% of respondents felt that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Some percentage of them will blame the sitting president for that! [Now,] it becomes very different when the election gets a bit [closer] and they are actually choosing between candidates,” said Peterson.

But even though these numbers might change, it should still be a wake-up call for Biden. “I feel like, for whatever reason, his campaign has really failed to lay out a case for him beyond that he is not Donald Trump. But [overall,] I think this is still a toss-up of an election,” said Peterson.

This is why it is more important, now than ever, to make one’s voice heard during election season. “Democracy only works if people do it. If you dislike what you see in the way our political system operates, the best way to do something about it is to find candidates and issues that you care about and work/vote for them,” said Peterson.

“[So,] my advice is simply to get involved [however] you can, even if that is just registering and voting,” said Peterson.

While some people may believe that politics just isn’t for them, politics lives in everything that we do from the roads we drive our cars on, to our education and to the state of our futures. This coming election season, make sure to do one’s civic duty and vote.