Laura Sofia Cuellar AngaritaElections in the USA
“Every four years a presidential election takes place in the United States on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. On November 3, the American electorate decided between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. It is no surprise that every election gets billed as the most important ever. This said, there is no doubt that this election is most significant as it takes place with the backdrop of a health pandemic and an economic recession. Unlike the 1918 pandemic which occurred at the end of World War I, the United States are now, without doubt, the major superpower in the world.” (National, 2020)
The MIB program of Universidad EAFIT asked Dr. Joshua Large, who is a professor for Global Affairs in the MIB Program, about the general outcome that can be expected from these presidential elections.
Joe Biden is not president-elect … at least not yet!
“The president of the United States on January 20 will be Joe Biden” he assures. Dr. Large explains that what the media is calling president-elect is not actually the president-elect because the United States has a complex system, using an electoral college and not a general popular vote. it is not the popular vote as such that elects the president, it is the electoral college. So, there is no president-elect until the electoral college designates Biden as such on December 13th.
Why does counting take so long?
Another question that many are asking is why the delay in counting the votes and why does the United States continue to do it manually and not with some kind of technology that facilitates the process. Dr. Large explains that it could be for three reasons. First, the United States has a very decentralized system, they don’t have a federal mandate on what a ballot looks like, for example Pennsylvania has 6 different types of ballots, which makes the counting process less efficient. Second, mail-in ballots, which is something really new that has slowed down the process. And finally, the level of scrutiny to avoid any type of fraud.
Another thing to keep in mind when talking about the outcome of elections in the USA is the difference in policies that Trump and Biden have. When the electoral college appoints Biden as president-elect, Dr. Large thinks that the most immediate change is the policy towards COVID-19. Biden announced a plan to combat the coronavirus and prepare for future threats to global health, including a national mandate to wear masks. Another major difference is in climate change policy, as President, Biden will lead the world to address the climate emergency and lead by the power of example, ensuring that the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
Doctor Large answers these and many more questions in this webinar, if you are interested in knowing more about the most important elections in the world, please consult the video down below.
Thomas Treutler
