Special elections to elect a President and Vice-President for the Associated Student Organization (ASO) took place at El Camino College (EC) the week of Oct. 15, demonstrating that exercising the right to vote is crucial in any level of politics.
In 2016, the United States experienced division and racial tension partly due to the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the U.S. During his campaigns, an overwhelming amount of people came out of the shadows, launching praises and approval towards Trump despite him gloating about “grabbing women by the p——.”
A larger voting turnout might have changed the course of the 2016 election.
The 2016 election showed that Trump had 27.20 percent of votes and Clinton had 28.43 percent, meaning 44.37 percent (102,731,399) of eligible voters failed to vote, according to Brilliant Maps.
But in choosing Trump, America chose to run the country like a business, rather than a government.
Trump is a celebrity figure and has no political experience–making the U.S. the laughing stock of the world.
This was demonstrated during the last United Nations meeting in September, where Trump was met with laughter, one minute into a speech intended to establish the U.S. as a sovereignty, according to the Washington Post.
El Camino College is all too familiar with political issues as well, mostly within the ASO.
Back in 2016, EC students voted to elect Eman Dalili as ASO President.
With that election came reports that Dalili was not a leader and failed to attend some ASO meetings.
After a failed attempt to impeach Dalili, several members of the ASO resigned.
Despite no known formal attempt for the impeachment of Trump…yet, EC shares eerie similarities with the president and his ever-changing cabinet; members chose to resign when they realized that the candidate they chose to endorse had a different vision than originally thought.
Voting is vital given that political figures represent a country or institution but in the likeness of Trump, has misrepresented the U.S. by endorsing policies that create racial, xenophobic and damaging practices such as detention centers created during the Obama administration and attacking the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which expanded Medicaid to millions of low-income families.
By doing so, Trump has left marginalized people even more vulnerable, including those that voted for him.
Not to mention Trump’s endorsement of these policies have left thousands of undocumented children, who were separated from their families at the border and placed in detention centers, with psychological damage for the rest of their lives.
But for those people who feel remorse and resentment when hearing the President’s sexist, xenophobic rhetoric, they now have the opportunity to redeem themselves and make a change via civic engagement.
Among a national representative sample of 8,207 adults, 45 percent continued to “approve” of Trump while 28 percent “strongly approved” of him, according to SurveyMonkey and their most recent Trump Approval Poll.
In that poll, the disapproval” rating rose to 52 percent and “strongly disapprove” rose to 41 percent
The issue at large is not just voting, it is also that a sexist, transphobic, and xenophobic individual is now president and has revealed he is a “nationalist,” a practice used to rally Hitler’s Germany during the Holocaust.
This is only Trump’s first term; he has demonstrated he is incompetent and this can easily turn into a second term if people do not go and vote.
With the midterm elections occurring Nov. 6, it is time to vote in what may be the most decisive election in U.S. history.
These midterm elections will ultimately decide who gains control of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate—the two divisions of Congress.
Democrats currently need to win 28 seats to win the Senate while Republicans only need 9, according to the New York Times.
The House of Representatives is responsible for passing bills that affect the whole country but these bills must pass through the Senate and the president.
If a majority Democratic Congress—both Senate and House—were to be elected, they would most likely launch investigations into the Trump administration, an action Republicans have been hesitant to pursue despite disagreements over immigration policies, Russian probe, and the most recent, what actions to take against Saudi Arabia regarding the alleged premeditated murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump has made over 5,000 “false or misleading” claims in his term, according to the Washington Post Fact Checker.
Just one of those false claims would be suicide for a journalist and yet there are some people that believe President Donald Trump is credible.
Voting is the epitome of change.
“But in 2016, only 24 million young adults between the ages of 18-29 cast their ballots — only half of the eligible voters. Among young Latinos, just 43 percent between 18-29 registered in 2016 and less than a third voted,” according to NBC News.
However, in a survey by SurveyMonkey, 68 percent of young Americans are “absolutely certain” or “will probably” vote, with many citing the 2016 election results as motivation.
The 2020 election is not very far away but the chain of events will begin Tuesday, Nov. 6
And although online voter registration has passed, it is not too late to register.
There is a 15-day voter registration deadline, in most elections, you may conditionally register to vote and cast a provisional ballot by visiting your county elections office or voting center location during the period of 14 days prior to, and including Election Day, according to the California Secretary of State website.
Voting is important because it gives citizens a voice in this country by the way of their state representatives. People not eligible to vote are also affected by the laws and policies regardless of their legal status in the U.S.
So, when choosing a candidate, it is important to become informed of their policies and past work while having the country’s best interest at heart, not yours.
It has never been easier to vote, become informed or compare candidates due to the excess of resources found online.
