The Presidential Election: Kamala vs. Donald
By Josie Painter
As Donald Trump and Kamala Harris fight to become the next president, sides are taken, arguments arise, and some refuse to get involved in the fiery debate. On Tuesday, November 5, anyone 18 or older will be offered the chance to vote on one of these candidates, and the results could change the country, as each party has a vastly different approach to how the country should be run.
Alex Thramer, business teacher, discusses voting, saying, “It is important to vote to voice your opinions on the local, state, and national levels. Many people do not vote because they feel their vote does not matter in the presidential election, but I believe that the voter turnout will be higher this year because I believe more citizens care about the state of our country and communities compared to the past.”
Thramer then goes on, stating, “Mainstream media is hard to follow and rely on because they contradict each other so much. I feel that independent reading from reliable papers and scholarly articles gives the best and most reliable information. To me, the most important issues for this upcoming election are border control, economic changes, abortion, and property taxes when it comes to education funding,”
The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, plans to increase immigration laws, try to decrease inflation by growing oil and gas drilling and deregulation, leave abortion access up to the states, and says he will not sign a national law banning abortion. He also states he would make in vitro fertilization (IVF), a medical procedure where an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube or somewhere outside the body, free for women if he were to become president.
Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, plans to create stricter immigration policies and strengthen the opportunity economy with a focus on the middle class by combating price gouging, stimulating housing development, supporting first-time homebuyers, and extending tax credits for parents. Harris also pledged to veto any nationwide abortion ban and to protect access to contraception and other fertility treatments such as IVF. In addition, Harris has praised efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to protect access to medical abortion and protect women who cross state lines to have an abortion.
This election is estimated to be one of the closest, making it extremely important for people to get out and vote. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, the percentages show Harris to have a marginal 3-percentage-point lead over Donald Trump with 45% to 42%. The poll had a margin of error of around 4 percentage points. As shown by the poll, the race is tight and the winner will be determined by those who vote.
The Pierce High principal and activities director, Mark Brahmer, expresses his feelings about the candidates, stating, “I’m not real high on either candidate. I don’t know if I agree with some of the policies of the Democratic party, and I don’t know whether I agree with some of the character issues of the candidate from the Republican party, so I may abstain this year.” Brahmer then went on, stating, “I can’t tell you exactly how many times I vote and how many times I haven’t, and then when I was coaching, most of the big elections were happening right in the time where I was coaching as well. So it wasn’t like I was going home and sorting through the newspaper to make sure that I was ready for it, and I didn’t want to vote uneducated.”
Whether or not someone chooses to vote, the upcoming election will determine the direction of our country, and with the race coming to an end, and the winner undecided, it is more important than ever to vote for the candidate who will serve our country best.
