The 2020 Presidential Election
Voters make history with record turnout numbers
By Annabelle Trowbridge, reporter
Voters make history with record turnout numbers
By Annabelle Trowbridge, reporter
2020 has been quite the year. For starters, we were hit unexpectedly with a world-wide pandemic, the first in over a century. You would think that this reality would alter election results in the sense that there would be a significant drop in voter turnout. However, what happened was the exact opposite of what was expected. There has been a historic amount of votes cast in any given election since 1900. According to a CNBC article, at least 159.8 million Americans voted in the 2020 presidential election. 100 million of those votes were cast either by mail or through early-voting due to the coronavirus and the precautions people took to cast their ballots.
The mail-in voting option was especially important in swing states such as Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada. These essential electoral college votes played an important role in determining the election results. In this election, 65% of eligible voters went to the polls, compared to the 2016 election, where only 60% of the eligible people voted. Voter participation is critical for a healthy democracy. Despite this year’s historic turnout, it still only represents 60% of the eligible US voting population. It makes you wonder who would’ve won the election if 100% of the voting population voted… Biden? Or Trump?
The mail-in voting option was especially important in swing states such as Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada. These essential electoral college votes played an important role in determining the election results. In this election, 65% of eligible voters went to the polls, compared to the 2016 election, where only 60% of the eligible people voted. Voter participation is critical for a healthy democracy. Despite this year’s historic turnout, it still only represents 60% of the eligible US voting population. It makes you wonder who would’ve won the election if 100% of the voting population voted… Biden? Or Trump?