Although most students at Forest Hills High School are not of age to cast a vote for the 2024 U.S. Election, how many of us actually know what each candidate’s policies are? What does each party stand for? How does the election work?
Let’s take a look at politics on a more local level. At FHHS, we have a student government that serves as the student voice of the students. This year, our class president is Senior, Frida Ziu. She ran against her opponent in hopes that she could make a change within our school community. “I really wanted to use all this knowledge I had about people’s opinions, perspectives, to do something better. So I thought why not become a student government member, she says.”
To run for a position in Student Government, students can apply at the end of the school year to run for the following. The voting process is entirely digital. The first stage of the election process, Frida says, “is like qualifications, and the second stage is like campaigning like getting votes from other people.”
On a much larger scale is the U.S Presidential Election. This year, the official voting date is November 5, 2024. However, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures website, most states start early voting 27 days before the election. Voting is done by either in-person voting or by mail-in ballot voting. Voting sites vary by county and town but common sites are public schools.
Each individual state has a different number of candidates on their ballots, but all 50 have the two main candidates: former President Donald J. Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance for the Republican party and Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota governor, Tim Walz as Vice President for the Democratic party.
The Republican Party: Donald Trump and JD Vance
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump won the presidential race in 2016. He served through the early COVID pandemic, then lost the race to current President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump’s motto, continuing into his current campaign is MAGA, or “Make America Great Again.”
- Undocumented Immigration: Trump and Vance have stated multiple times at rallies that they would deport millions of undocumented immigrants that have crossed the border. Many people at rallies hold signs saying: Mass Deportation Now!
- Pro-life/Pro-choice stance: Trump has stated on EWTN’s The World Over that he prefers abortion be up to the states, however in an interview with NBC he said he didn’t care if it was federal or state when it came to a limit on how far along the pregnancy is.
- He vowed in a video released in Jan. 2023 that he would stop gender-affirming care for minors. He also stated that he would push this agenda into education.
- Contrary to popular belief, Trump did not write and/or help the making of the conservative documents known as Project 2025. However, those who did write it were working with Trump during his first term.
The Democratic Party: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
Tony Avelar / Associated Press
Kamala Harris is current President Joe Biden’s second-in-command. She was elected to office as Vice President in 2020 alongside Biden. Originally Biden was running for office again but dropped out of the race in July 2024. This is how Harris secured the presidential candidate position.
If they win the election, Harris and Walz promise to lower costs and protect civil rights.
- Undocumented Immigration: According to BBC, Harris promises to continue her work to better control the borders. This includes continuing her work on trying to regulate the amount of people migrating to the United States illegally
- Pro-life/Pro-choice stance: Harris has advocated for abortion rights and reproductive rights for all.
Tim Walz Ben Hovland | MPR News 2023 - According to PRIDE newspaper, Harris has always been a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights in general, including those for minors. As a vice president she has spoken out against anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
- Though Harris works under Biden, she admits that their policies are different in some aspects.
Polls
Polls are conducted by news sources throughout the election season. According to The New York Times, Harris takes the lead by 1% as of October 22. Aljazeera, another source shows that Harris is ahead by 1.9% The numbers are consistently changing by the minute until Election Day. These polls can possibly predict who may win the election, but one can’t be 100% certain.
