It’s four weeks after the election and we now know who the next president of the United States will be. There has been an immense build up for this long awaited day. The American people are big contributors in the preparation for Election Day, with all the rally’s and early voting. Your vote is very important, it’s crucial to choose the right candidate to represent you. I contacted several who were early voters to get their feedback on what early voting was and how much it impacts the country. These are just a couple anonymous responses.

“I chose to early vote because I knew it would be challenging to make it the week of my fall play “One Elkhart: Different Together” which is all about accepting differences and trying to come together as a community… yet another reason to vote. Little did I know, Covid would hit my husband a week later. I’m so glad I stood in line for two hours on my first day of fall break, because I would have been in quarantine if I had waited until election day. My husband is now unable to vote. So I voted for him.  I voted for my students who can’t vote yet. I voted for my daughter who turns 18 in December and missed voting in this historic election by a month.  Much like the play we are working on, I highly value diversity, compassion, unity, humility, and inclusion. I truly believe no human being has higher value than another. Their value is not dependent on skin color, income, ability, gender identity or sexual orientation. One candidate stands for those values. One does not. My choice was very clear.” As you can see they were very passionate about who they voted for because they know that person has the same values and believes in the same things as they do.

Another engaging anonymous comment I received said, “I chose to do early voting because of how easy it was. I have been using early voting for several years now for both the primaries and general elections. For this election, I actually had to wait at the Lincoln Center location in Elkhart County. I was able to go on a Thursday while we were on Fall Break. From start to finish, it took less than an hour. My daughter went on Monday and she was done in 45 minutes. It was a very simple process, and exactly like how it works on election day. I voted because I believe that citizens have a responsibility to be an active participant in our democracy. When choosing who to vote for, I look at their positions on issues that are important to me. I try to vote for candidates that have the same philosophy and values as I do. While the national offices are important, I think that local offices are just as important, and so I spend a lot of time researching local politicians.”

On the other hand, a different interviewee spent time doing their research on the candidates before they made their choice, they were confident in who they voted for. This voter was also very passionate about who they voted for because that candidate has the same values as they do and wants to fix the issues that they both can see are happening in this country.

Since the time of writing, former Delaware Senator, Joe Biden will be the new president of the United States. Now this could change a lot of things, because he may run America differently than previous Presidents. In fact, I assume he will change many things, but time can only tell what he will do as the new President. Now, America’s biggest question is that will Biden make America better or worse?