Young Voters’ Thoughts on the 2020 Presidential Election
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By: Corinna Rodriguez, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc. © 2020
As the 2020 Presidential Election on November 3, 2020 gets closer, young voters in Texas are beginning to realize that this election will be a close battle between the two major candidates who are Donald J. Trump and Joe Biden. Young voters turnout will play an important role in the November election.
21-year-old Samantha Vielma is majoring in Recreation Administration at Texas State University, and she has decided to take the time to discuss her political beliefs in regards to this upcoming election.
“Yes, I am registered to vote in the state of Texas. However, I did not come around to vote in the July 14, 2020, Texas Primary Run-Off election due to my ballot being sent to my permanent residence address in Eagle Pass. Therefore, yes I will be voting for this upcoming election because I personally feel that President Donald Trump is very unsuitable due to all the controversy that he has caused. On the other hand, I personally do not know who will get my vote when the time comes since there has been a history of issues between both of the candidates”, said Vielma.
21 year old, Fernando Fernandez III, who is currently majoring in Business at Texas State University has come forth to discuss his political preferences regarding the upcoming 2020 Election.
“Yes, I am registered to vote, but I did not take the chance to vote in the July 14, 2020, Texas Primary Run-Off election because I did not want to put my health at risk due to the COVID – 19 pandemic. In addition, I more than likely will be voting for the election in November just depending on how I feel towards the candidates themselves. Furthermore, I am personally not sure who I am voting for considering that they are both decent candidates from my point of view, but we all saw how President Trump handled things when things got horrid for the country”, said Fernandez.
21 year old, Gerardo Gonzalez III, is earning a degree in Accounting at Texas State University, and with the amount of pressure that he is under he has come forth to talk about his thoughts and perspectives regarding the upcoming election.
“Yes, I am registered to vote, but no I did not vote in the July 14, 2020, Texas Primary Run-Off election due to the fact that I have been swarmed with summer classes. Once the election comes around in November, I will be taking the time to go vote at the polling station. As a matter of fact, even when I am currently unsure on who to vote for, I am leaning more towards President Trump because although I might not agree with all his actions, he still managed to do great things within his four years of being in office”, said Gonzalez.
21 year old, Armando Martinez, received a degree in Diesel Technology from Southwest Texas Junior College, and he decided to come to terms of speaking upon the 2020 election and his thoughts towards it.
“Yes, I am registered to vote, and yes I did go ahead and voted in the July 14, 2020 Texas Primary Run-Off election. In addition, I will also be voting in the November 3, 2020 general election. As a matter of fact, I will be voting for Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential Election that way we can perhaps see a future change if Biden were to win office”, said Martinez.
The upcoming November 3, 2020 General Election in Texas will have many key races contested between several political parties, including the Democratic and Republican parties, from the U.S. President to one U.S. Senate seat, 36 Congressional Districts, 16 State Senate Districts, 150 State House of Representatives Districts, Texas Supreme Court, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas Board of Education, Railroad Commission of Texas, Texas Court of Appeals, and many County, City, and Special District races.
Young voters in Texas in the past have had low voter turnout compared to other states in the United States, but Texas has had a large voter registration of young voters in 2019 and 2020 in anticipation of the 2020 November General Election. Many young voters were inspired by former Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2018. If these young voters turn out to vote, they may be the swing vote in many political races this November 2020.
As the November 3, 2020 General Election quickly approaches us, these young voters took the time out of their day to discuss their political thoughts and views even when it was not the most comfortable topic for them to discuss. It is obvious that there is a mix of different perspectives among young Texas voters since some people know who they are voting for and others do not know who they are voting until the election draws closer to November 3, 2020. One thing is certain, if these young voters in Texas turn out to vote like they did in 2018 they will make a difference in the November 3 General Election.
