Early morning on Nov. 7, news and mainstream media outlets declared Joe Biden the projected winner of the 2020 election, defeating incumbent President Trump and making him the 46th president of the United States.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris took the stage Saturday night to celebrate their victory and thank the American people. People rejoiced and partied in the streets of major cities around the world, but are these celebrations premature?
While the media has declared Biden our new president-elect, it is not the media’s job to determine a presidential win, but that of the electoral college. States across the country are beginning to recount their votes, specifically in Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Trump administration refuses to concede the projected election results and has filed court cases and lawsuits in multiple important swing states in response to the alleged fraud.
Danielle Vacca, a senior television and digital media major at Montclair State University, believes these results are quite questionable.
“I think regardless of your political influences, it would be naive to say that this election was fair,” Vacca said. “Our country has never experienced such a large amount of mail-in ballots and we were not prepared for the counting process. The employees that were working at the polls, counting these ballots, are not government officials and therefore not [bound] to act in good faith.”
Vacca goes on to explain that there is alleged evidence of dead people voting.
“Aside from the thousands of voters born in the 1800s, in the crucial battleground states, who are obviously deceased, with the margins being so tight in this election and the evidence being compiled thus far, I believe this election is far from over,” Vacca said. “No matter what the outcome is, it’s pivotal that Americans can trust the legal process that determines who leads their country, and not the misinformation dispersed over social media.”
There is a Trump merchandise storefront located in downtown Toms River, New Jersey.
Photo courtesy of Angelica Wilson
Trevor Stankiewitch, a junior television and digital media major, also believes that the 2020 presidential election is not over.
“While this election is far from over in my eyes, it’s going to be a historic outcome either way,” Stankiewitch said. “A Biden win to me should be bittersweet for the Democratic party. I have seen countless interviews with Democratic voters not able to answer the simple question, ‘why are you voting for Joe Biden,’ without mentioning President Trump’s name.”
Stankiewitch does not believe that this election stands on any grounds for legitimacy.
“There is a legal process underway, which both sides should be happy about,” Stankiewitch continued. “For Trump supporters, you have plenty of hope that re-election is still in play. And for Biden supporters, you want the process to show that he won an indisputable victory. Who would want their president to have won under deceitful terms? That doesn’t sound like a democracy if you ask me.”
A Biden win would be historic in making Trump the first one-term president since George H.W. Bush held office. Kamala Harris would be the first woman, the first Black and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president in American history.
This election is different because there are multiple states in question. Attorney General William Barr has authorized the Department of Justice to prove voter fraud allegations. The electoral college meets on Dec. 14 to vote for a president and vice president, if the matter is not resolved by then.
