By Lizett Castillo
College of Southern Nevada students share their feelings after the pivotal presidential election.
As of Nov. 19, President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris won the election with 306 electoral votes to Donald Trump’s 232. Biden received nearly six million more popular votes than Trump.
Nevada swung blue this year, adding its six electoral votes to Biden’s victory. States that normally vote conservatively turned to the other side this year including Arizona and Georgia, which led to victory for Biden and Harris.
Though this election was met with celebrations in the streets of the nation and around the world, the Trump campaign is not admitting defeat and is legally challenging several states claiming voter fraud and issue with mail-in ballots. Trump has yet to concede.
CSN student Daniel Ramirez said he understands the president’s frustration but hopes he will concede soon. “There’s been a lot of misinformation going around about the mail-in ballots. I get it, in some ways there might have been some weird things going on but ultimately I don’t think anything like that happened.”
According to Pew Research Center’s Nov. 10 article titled “Most Mail and Provisional Ballots Got Counted in Past U.S. Elections, Though Many Did Not,” it stated, “A record number of votes—about 65 million—were cast via mail ballot, also called absentee voting, in the 2020 general election and the outcome of the presidential race in several key states came down to them.”
The counts continue and official election results won’t happen until the Electoral College casts its votes in December and the election is certified. A lot can happen before then. The nation’s anxiety is high and many students are feeling it.
CSN student Zulema Ibarra said waiting four days to find out the results of the election caused her anxiety.
Ibarra said, “Every day that passed seemed even more dramatic than the day before. It was just frustrating to have to wait for those last few states to give us updates, especially Nevada. If Nevada and Arizona had been quicker this election would’ve been called way before Saturday.”
CSN student Angelina Reyes-Martin said the uncertainty she was feeling made her uneasy but she feels hopeful because this time feels different. “I remember the feeling of fear I felt four years ago when Trump was elected. The feeling of uncertainty the future had in store for my Mexican family, for my friends who were about to lose their DACA status or people in the LGBTQ community. It was scary. It was sad but now I feel relieved. For the first time in four years I feel hope for the next four years.”
President-Elect Biden already assembled his transition team, set meetings with healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and made plans for the economic recovery the country needs.
Inauguration Day is set for Jan. 20, 2021.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 