By Amanda Michael
The 2020 election has been an ongoing topic bringing many differing opinions and thoughts into the open, especially between the Democratic and Republican parties.
With many college students becoming first-time voters, they have found themselves to be an essential part of society as they educate themselves on which party and candidate they best associate with.
Ashlyn Morales, a nursing student at Texas Tech, said she is excited about her first time voting and is proud to fulfill her civic duty.
“It’s been stressful these past couple months, trying to learn a little more about government and get a better feel for how elections work,” Morales said. “I never realized how much you have to pay attention to current events, and what’s going on in the news in order to form an opinion.”
Morales said she feels a lot of pressure from friends and family when discussing politics.
“This election is obviously really important, and I’m thankful I get the opportunity to have a voice in the election, but I never expected my own friends and family to have such a strong opinion about my opinion.”
Jim Baxa, former precinct chair for the Republican Party in Lubbock, explained the importance for voters to have a strong opinion about the election rather than staying moderate.
“Both parties have moved drastically to the left in the last few decades,” Baxa said. “The Democratic Party is so far left they’ve become socialists onto communists; so, anyone who is in the middle of things should be scared of the democratic party and should run away from it.”
When asked why Baxa thinks both parties have moved so far left, he explained that it has everything to do with religion.
“Our society has become a Godless society,” he said, “when my grandparents were children, everyone went to church. It’s what you did on Sunday.”
When asked to elaborate on the relationship between religion and government, Baxa said there is no separation of church and state.
“We don’t have a separation of church and state; that’s a misconception the media has forced upon these days,” Baxa said. “The separation of church and state was only mentioned in a letter from Thomas Jefferson, and it was not in the Constitution.”
In the Bill of Rights, it states that Congress must remain neutral in reference to religion, thereby neither hindering nor promoting it.
Gracie Gomez, the Lubbock County Democratic Chair, explained that a toxic political environment has developed, and it is very important for young voters to get involved and make a change.
“I think we need to engage more and inform them, you young people are absolutely key in these changes,” Gomez said.
When asked about important discussions such as abortion, Gomez explained that it’s all about choice.
“It’s simple to me,” Gomez said, “it’s about a choice, you know. I may not seek an abortion because it’s not for me, but I don’t have the right to cram my voice down someone else who is seeking that.”
President Donald Trump’s Tweet response to election results. (Twitter)
As of publication time, the Associated Press has called the election in favor of Biden.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his concerns about the election.
“Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be? We have all learned a lot in the past two
weeks!” Trump said in a Tweet.
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