By Anna Levi '24 and Eloise Miller '24
Photo by Anna Levi '24
Pots and pans clanging. People cheering. Cars honking and blasting music. In some areas of America, citizens were crying tears of joy. In others, people were waving flags and screaming “stop the steal.” But everywhere, T.V.s blared the same message to all; after an extended and exhausting election process, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was the 2020 president elect.
In the midst of a global pandemic, civil unrest, and an economy on the brink of recession, the election results were more crucial than ever. Americans knew this. That’s why they showed up to the polls in record numbers: over 161 million Americans voted both in-person and through mail-in ballots. Of those 161 million ballots, just under 80 million votes were cast for Joe Biden while Donald Trump took about 74 million votes. With Biden’s victory came more than just the presidency for him; Kamala Harris became the first African American, Indian American, and female Vice-President elect. The Biden-Harris ticket indisputably made history. Women and people of color finally saw themselves in a vice-president, the second-highest post in the United States government. Many were overjoyed about the results, but others could not, would not, accept defeat.
As most know, New York City is overwhelmingly democratic. Approximately 85% of votes cast by residents of NYC went to Vice-President Biden, so it’s no surprise that celebrations erupted when Biden was announced as the president-elect. Many were even moved to tears as they saw their country changing right before their eyes, and New York’s iconic city streets were flooded with noise and jubilation.
Anya Thompson ‘24, a Brooklyn native, shared her experience finding out that Biden was the president-elect. She was in her room, when her mom came in and told her the exciting news. “Drivers were pulling over and getting out of their cars to cheer on the sidewalks, people were whistling and hooting, we heard people starting to blast music out of their apartment windows onto the streets….” She described the experience as “surreal” and the “relief” that rushed over her. Anya’s experience is indicative of how most New Yorkers felt about the news. If you were in the city on that fateful November 7th, you may have a similar story of hearing cheers or seeing celebrations.
However, if you were in Georgia, you might have witnessed something very different. Georgia turned out to be one of the key states in the election, with 16 electoral college votes that were crucial in deciding which candidate won. While there were many celebrations in Atlanta, there were also plenty of protests. Trump supporters were seen waving Trump flags, holding up posters, and protesting what they called a “stolen election.” Emma Braslavsky, who was a sixth grader during the 2020 election, and is also a Georgia resident, said that her initial reaction to Biden’s win was excitement. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that there would be tension in her school. As Georgia turned blue, Emma said, “All of the Biden supporters (including me) had a tab of the election count on our computers. People would start debates about who was going to win in the middle of class.” She didn’t go out to celebrate that day, but she does recall reading messages from people in her neighborhood stating the election was rigged. Emma’s experience is a perfect example of how a lot of the country was that day: divided and tense.
But for Georgians, the election process was far from over. On November 3rd, Republican senators from Georgia, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both received the majority of the votes in their elections to stay in the Senate. However, due to some votes being cast for third parties, neither Loeffler nor Perdue won 50% of the vote. This caused the election to go into a runoff, with a new election date set for January 5, 2021. Thanks to Stacey Abrams, grassroots organizers, and black voters turning out in record numbers, both democrats Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won their elections. This granted Democrats 50 seats - while Republicans held on to the other 50 - and because Kamala Harris is the one to break the tie, Democrats now control the Senate. These two wins in Georgia also grant them full power over Congress for the next two years, which will help the new administration achieve their legislative agenda.
Although the full 2020 election process started and ended in just a few months, the results will affect our country for years. That is why it is of the utmost importance to make sure that the results line up with the will of the people, and not the will of any one politician or organization. The people's vote is more important than even the wish of the current President of the United States, and that’s something we can all hope to agree on. So no matter your thoughts on the election, let’s all agree that the division it caused is impermissible, and that every chance we get, we’ll get out and make our voices heard.
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