Local Votes: The State of the F*cking Union
With Donald Trump’s 91 felony charges, and Joe Biden’s unwavering support for the genocide in Gaza, American voters feel more conflicted than ever before this election season.
Its an election year, which means the lovely return of Local Votes, our political commentary coupled with poll updates on the election cycle! Presidential elections have been a hot topic quite literally since the establishment of this country. The 2020 presidential election saw historic, record breaking voter turnout, with 154.6 million voters participating. Whether this number will increase or decrease, is something I can’t quite be sure of for a number of reasons.
This election year is up against the backdrop of serious culture wars, with internal conflict at what feels like an all time high. Legislative attacks on the rights of Transgender individuals, book bans, the racist restructuring of public education curriculum, broken promises of student debt forgiveness, and soaring costs of living have widened already monstrous gaps between the differing sectors of the American public.
So too, have international conflicts and issues of foreign policy impacted the political scene at home. The United States continues to fund the Ukrainian military in the Russo-Ukrainian war, while simultaneously increasing funding and arms deals to Israel, in support of its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 29,000 Palestinians. Note that this number does not account for those lost and presumed dead under the rubble.
This amalgamation of domestic and international conflicts has resulted in an explosion of political activity within the United States that has come to an interesting boiling point. While some maintain that a Democratic presidency will save us from the horrors of a second Trump term, others argue that both Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same coin. Considering the failures–both political and ethical–of the Biden Administration, I have to agree. The fact of the matter is, neither party seems particularly interested in enacting the will of the people.
According to a Data for Progress poll in December 2023, 61% of likely voters–across party lines–are in favor of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, President Biden has bypassed congress to increase arms to Israel and has authorized airstrikes on Yemen, widening the conflict. As of April 2023, an Axios poll showed that 60% of Americans did not want Trump to seek re-election, and 70% believed the same of Biden. Yet both are the front-runners for their respective political parties.
Joe Biden’s forceful participation in the Gazan genocide is tremendously impacting his popularity and liklihood of reelection. There have been a host of religiously affiliated voter bases that have vowed not to vote for Biden in the upcoming election, in particular Muslim voters in swing states. Additionally, polls have shown that voters aged 18–32 are abandoning the Biden Administration, not just over his stance on Gaza, but also for other critical shortcomings. The 81 year-old president has gutted his base, which was already reluctant to vote for him back in 2020.
Donald Trump remains essentially absent from the campaign trail, too caught up in his legal battles pertaining to 91 felony charges. To be clear, these charges are spread amongst four cases: election interference in D.C.(4 felonies), election interference in Georgia (13 felonies), hush money to a porn star (34 felonies), and hoarding classified documents at his property in Florida (40 felonies). In addition to this, in early 2023, a jury declared Trump guilty of having sexually assaulted E. Jean Carrol in a department store dressing room during the spring of 1996. In short, the Republican front runner is a racist, felonious rapist.
Although America remains a self proclaimed democracy, polling numbers have revealed that the obvious will of the American people is to abandon both candidates, in favor of someone new, younger, and less criminal. The two-party system has presented us with less than unsavory options, however they are not the only choices. Aside from the Democrats and Republicans, there are three independent or third-party candidates fighting for the role. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (70), an anti-vaccine activist, Cornell West (70), a former Ivy League professor and progressive activist, and Jill Stein (73), a Green Party physician, are the options outside of the typical red and blue.
Stay tuned for our next installment of Local Votes, which will include an analysis of each party/affiliation’s candidates and their policies.
