Trump, Harris… and a coconut tree?
Depending on where you get your news from, there are probably a lot of narratives surrounding this upcoming presidential election. Instead of playing a game of ‘fact or fiction’ to weed out the thousands of theories going around, this article is going to give the most important current details every American should know to form their own sound opinions on the 2024 presidential election and its candidates.
#1: The candidates
Running in November 5, 2024 presidential election will be, on the Democratic side, current vice president Kamala Harris and on the Republican side, former president Donald J. Trump. In addition, Third-party and Independent candidates are as follows: Cornel West, Jill Stein, Chase Oliver, and Claudia De la Cruz.
Originally, current President Biden was running for reelection as the democratic candidate, but, as of July 2024, he has dropped out of the running and been replaced by his vice president, Kamala Harris. As their running mates, running with current vice president Harris will be Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, and with former president Trump is Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
#2: What is a Presidential Election
Occurring every 4 years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, a presidential election is America’s democratic system in which citizens and representatives vote for our head of state: the president. Voters choose between two different political parties, from our two-party political system and whichever candidate, nominated by the parties, gets the most votes wins.
Different parties: America is a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties competing for the presidency. In comparison, some countries have multi-party systems, in which multiple parties have more disbursed representation and power (this is more commonly seen in European countries). They hold the most political power compared to smaller parties.
Third-Party and Independents do exist though: the Libertarian Party, who advocate for minimal government intervention, the Green Party, who believe in environmental, justice, and progressive policies in politics, and Independents who do not run with a party and represent their own respective goals.
America is dominated by two parties: firstly, the Democratic Party, who are generally supportive of more progressive and liberal policies like healthcare expansion, education, and renewable energy. In contrast, the Republican Party tends to be more conservative, valuing less government intervention, free-market capitalism with lower taxes and traditional family values.
Electoral College:
Voting can get confusing, so the two-step process, known as the Electoral College is America’s voting system.
Individual voters (you) cast ballots on or before Election Day per their local voting box or mailing). Voters are casting a vote for their state’s “electoral votes” and whichever candidates get the most citizen votes in that area will be awarded ALL “electoral votes”. The individual votes contribute to the 538 total electoral votes that are divided among states based on their senators (2) plus the number of their state representatives. This means that individual votes don’t determine the presidential election, but instead the “electoral vote” majority does. If there is no majority, a contingent election is held in the HOR to elect the president and the Senate to elect the Vice President.
#3: Where You Can Vote
There are several different ways to vote.
- Early-bird: If you are eligible to vote and want to do so before election day, in New Jersey early voting is available between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3. A list of Middlesex early voting places is posted here.
- Voting by mail or Absentee voting in New Jersey works by requesting a ballot in the mail (for registered voters). The mail ballot application needs to be requested, filled out, and returned by mail or drop off location.
- At the Box: Locate the most accessible voting box for yourself, bring the right ID, and vote!
To become a registered voter in New Jersey, there are a couple of options.
- visit vote.gov to begin the process
- Register by mail by printing a voter registration form filled out and mailing it to your respective County Commissioner of Registration/Superintendent of Elections (Middlesex county).
New voters vs. Established: If you have voted before in New Jersey, you do not need to provide any ID. However, if you are a new voter, only registered to vote by mail, and/or did not provide ID when registering, you must bring ID to vote. Look here for acceptable ID to bring.
#4: Policy Positions
In the 2024 presidential election,Kamala Harris (Democratic party) and Donald Trump (Republican Party) differ widely on many important positions. A clear breakdown of the policy positions can be found here:
#5: Where You Can Get Even more Information
Your voice is more important now than ever. You are the future. Even if you cannot vote legally yet, the outcome of this upcoming election will probably affect you in some way over the next four years and beyond. You have an opinion and you do matter, so make sure you are staying politically conscious of the world around you, even if it is just in your own American sector.
Some news resources to use (rated most reliable and least biased by the widely used Ad Fontes “Media Bias Chart”) to become informed and stay up-to-date on current events are:
