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On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, the United States will hold its 59th presidential election. Now, more than ever, the future of our country is in our hands. Read up, stand up, and make your voice heard.
Election 2020: Voters Are Highly Engaged, but Nearly Half Expect To Have Difficulties Voting
As Democrats and Republicans prepare for their party conventions, a new national survey finds high voter engagement with the presidential campaign – and a record share saying it “really matters” who wins in November when it comes to making progress on important national issues.
Half of voters, including a majority of Biden supporters, expect it will be difficult to vote in this year’s election. Yet the coronavirus outbreak continues to cast a large shadow over the 2020 presidential election. Just half of U.S. registered voters (50%) say it will be very or somewhat easy to vote in the upcoming elections, while about the same share (49%) expects to have difficulties casting a ballot. That is a substantial change since October 2018, shortly before that year’s midterm elections, when 85% of registered voters said it would be easy to vote.
Voters who support Donald Trump are far more likely than those who support Joe Biden to say it will be easy to vote this year. However, the shares of both Trump and Biden supporters who expect it will be easy to vote are much lower than the shares of voters who said this in 2018 – regardless of which party’s candidate they supported.
There also are stark differences between Trump and Biden supporters about how they prefer to vote. Most registered voters who support Trump or lean toward supporting him would rather vote in person in the presidential election (80%), either on Election Day (60%) or earlier (20%); only 17% prefer to vote by mail. By contrast, a majority of voters who support or lean toward supporting Biden say their preference is to vote by mail in the presidential election (58%).
A group of voters line up outside the polling station in Peachtree, Alabama, a year after the Voting Rights Act was passed. (Photo: MPI/Getty Images)
Voting in 2020: Here’s What You Should Know
In an April survey, two-thirds of U.S. adults said that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to significantly disrupt Americans' ability to vote in November.
In an April survey, two-thirds of U.S. adults said that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to significantly disrupt Americans' ability to vote in November.
In an April survey, two-thirds of U.S. adults said that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to significantly disrupt Americans' ability to vote in November.
Here are where the two candidates stand on important issues – questions below.
JOE BIDEN (D)
“Every American has a right to the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have access to affordable, quality health care.”
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (R)
“We're lowering the price of prescription drugs, making our allies pay their fair share.
SNCC worker Monroe Sharp is arrested by two policemen during a voter registration drive in Greenwood, Miss., on July 16, 1964.
Blocking the Vote:
Voter Suppression in 2020
Voting should be as easy and convenient as possible, and in many cases it is. But across the U.S., too many politicians are passing measures making it harder to cast a ballot. The goal is to manipulate political outcomes, and the result is a severely compromised democracy that doesn’t reflect the will of the people. Our democracy works best when all eligible voters can participate and have their voices heard.
Suppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructive, like voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. And long before election cycles even begin, legislators can redraw district lines that determine the weight of your vote. Certain communities are particularly susceptible to suppression and in some cases, outright targeted — people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
But who is affected by voter suppression? The short answer is all of us. Our democracy is debased when the vote is not accessible for all. But the fact is that some groups are disproportionately affected by voter suppression tactics, including people of color, young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. There’s proof that certain groups have been deliberately targeted -- for example, the government documents uncovered in the census case proved that the citizenship question intended to harm immigrants. Other times, the proof is in the numbers.
The right to vote is the most fundamental constitutional right for good reason — democracy cannot exist without the electoral participation of citizens. We vote because it’s we, the people, who are supposed to shape our government. Not the other way around.
In 2016, there were 231,556,622 eligible voters in the US.
46.9% didn’t vote.
25.6% voted for Clinton.
25.5% voted for Trump.
Almost half of all eligible voters did not bother to vote.
“Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”
—John Lewis
Major Dates in History —
A History of the Voting Rights Act
(via the ACLU
)
Let People Vote —
Learn how to vote by mail, and know your rights.
(via the ACLU)
Pull Up & Vote —
The Election 2020 Timeline
(via Complex )