Drew Landry, assistant professor of Government at South Plains College. (Ballotpedia)
By Dominick Puente
Four days following Election Day, Joe Biden has been projected as the president-elect of the United States.
First reported by the Associated Press, Biden captured 290 electoral votes against incumbent President Donald Trump’s 232 votes — as of the time of publication.
For the state of Texas, sources indicate the Texas Legislature will remain Republican as Trump took the popular and electoral votes.
Assistant Professor of Government for South Plains College Drew Landry explained that until the 2020 election, the American voters had never waited to this extent for election results.
“President Trump bought into the idea that people can send in their mail-in-ballot on election day,” Landry said.
Landry explained Trump was openly weary of the layout for mail-in-ballots.
There was speculation beforehand that mail-in-ballots would favor Biden, Landry said. There has not been research to prove said theory.
For the State of Texas, more than 9 million Texans participated in early voting, according to The Texas Tribune.
“The person at the top of the ballot is the driving force to get people to the polls,” Landry said. “I think the personality that is President Trump had made people go one way or the other.”
Landry detailed that voters had been listening to the Trump campaign about what Biden represents. The main focus of the presidential election shifted toward the thought of Trump being deserving of a second term, he said.
“The whole campaign has really been around a referendum on Donald Trump,” Landry said.
With the large turnout of voters in Texas, the professor expects voter fatigue to affect the lower portion of the ballet when it comes to state and local positions.
With the decision to not have straight-ticket-voting for the 2020 election season, Landry explained there was a strong push from top-ballet candidates to advocate to vote down-ballot.
President-Elect Joe Biden (Facebook)
“When you went into the polls and wanted to vote for all Democrats and Republicans the button to do that was not there,” he said. “This might cause some frustration.”
Landry detailed that voters who look at the numbers when it comes to state and local positions could notice roll-off ballets as there might be a significant drop off in votes due to people not wanting to scroll down a long list of names.
Levelland City Secretary Andrea Corley expressed her happiness with the high voter turnout in the community.
While election season is focused on the national scale, Corley said she believes in the importance of younger generations exercising their voting rights for community elections.
For local candidates running in elections, Corley noticed the importance of using social media platforms during the pandemic to spread their reach, she said.
In contrast to older generations who focus on researching candidates, Corley said she sees social media as a way for candidates to reach younger voters who desire information on demand.
“I think that the onset of the social media movement has made information more readily available,” Corley said.
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