This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at ASU chapter.

The 2016 general election was the 1st time I was eligible to vote. I fully backed Bernie and wanted him for president, but I also understood that 3rd party votes didn’t mean much in our political system and voted for Hillary Clinton. Although I didn’t think she was extreme enough in her stances and disagreed with quite a few of her policies, she was a much better option than Donald Trump. When the election results were announced and Donald Trump was declared President, I broke down crying.

Now, he’s spent the past 4 years sewing division and hate while exacerbating all the problems this country has had since its conception. The 2020 election is our chance to take a stand and elect a President and Vice President that embody progressive ideas and compassion. Young voters tend to not vote because they feel their vote doesn’t matter, but let me tell you right now, your vote does matter. This election needs to end in a landslide. Get out and vote! I could go on and on as to why I think Trump is evil incarnate, but let’s not delve into personal character. Let’s discuss some ways in which Joe Biden is the superior candidate based on policy alone:

Climate Change

Climate change is a real threat and its disastrous effects are accelerating at alarming rates. We have a limited amount of time in which to act before we hit the point of no return. With Biden as president, our nation will make moves toward renewable energy. Biden wants to establish an Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the government to combat environmental racism. The Biden Plan isn’t as ambitious as the Green New Deal, but it does share several important aspects and is a good step in the right direction. Pandemics are going to become increasingly more common as we deal with climate change, as will floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. We need to take a stand and combat the issue of climate change before it’s too late.

Covid

Biden wants to listen to scientists, putting health professionals at the helm of the nation’s response to the pandemic. He also wants to help provide PPE to businesses to help essential workers stay safe. He wants to help essential workers get pay raises for working in these dangerous times. A national response to the pandemic, in addition to increased transparency between the government and the people, would be a massive upgrade from the last 8 months of Trump’s blind and ignorantly dismissive approach to the pandemic.

College and Student Loans

We all know that college in America is insanely expensive. Biden wants to help students attend higher education by investing in community colleges and making 2 years at community college (or similar training programs) free to attend. This will be possibly by allowing Pell Grants to cover living expenses rather than just tuition and fees. Imagine public colleges and universities free to attend if your family’s income is less than $125,000. Imagine a President implementing loan forgiveness and reforming current repayment plans. Biden wants to crack down on predatory loan servicers and help students thrive. A vote for Biden helps college students stay on their parents’ health insurance plan.

Women’s Rights

Biden wants to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed and put into effect. As President, Biden will fight for equal pay, make wage gaps transparent, enact the Paycheck Fairness Act, and make it easier for workers to unionize and bargain collectively. Biden will invest in small businesses owned by women. He will address sexual harassment in the workplace and work to end violence against women by confronting online harrassment, abuse, and stalking. A vote for Biden provides support for survivors of sexual assault by ending the rape kit backlog, expanding the safety net for survivors, expanding housing assisstance, and guarenteeing paid leave for survivors through reforms of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Biden wants to expand survivors’ reporting rights on college campuses to help them get justice. He will strengthen Title IX and The Cleary Act to ensure rapes are reported by colleges instead of allowing college administrators to skew the numbers.

LGBTQIA+ Rights

Biden is extremely supportive of the Equality Act and vows to pass it in his 1st 100 days in office. This act would grant LGBTQ+ people civil rights protection that the current administration has been stripping away over the past 4 years. Biden supports transgender and nonbinary individuals in the workplace and will provide support and not allow for discrimination. Your vote could help LGBTQ+ children go through school without discrimination, harrassment, or bullying. By voting Biden, you could help tackle the homelessness issue that many LGBTQIA children and adults face. President Biden will end the transgender military ban and base blood donation regulations on science rather than the 80s fear of AIDS. Biden wants to help stop hate crimes and violence against transgender women of color, and he vows to strengthen the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Biden wants to ban conversion “therapy”, which is still legal in a terrifying majority of states, including Arizona. Your vote could make these promises a reality and save thousands of lives.

BIPOC Rights

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigeneous, and People of Color. Biden wants to combat environmental racism and address the hate crimes that LGBTQ+ People of Color face. As President, he will double investment in community health centers, which tend to be utilized most often by communities of color. Biden’s Lift Every Voice plan focuses on the need for data collection on the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 , climate change, education, and healthcare on communities of color in proportion to white communities. Biden recognizes the existence of systemic racism and seeks to combat it. Your vote could support small businesses to assist those in rural and low-income areas. Biden wants to increase affordable housing and tackle racial biases in housing appraisals by passing the Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights to ensure renter protections. Biden also wants to help Tribal Nations by providing healthcare, addressing climate change, and addressing health disparities that are perpetuated by racism and discrimination. Vote to help provide mental health services, trauma recovery, addiction treatment, and increase protection of tribal lands. Upon election, Biden will reinstate the annual White House Tribal Nations Conference and utilize the White House Council on Native American Affairs. Biden will reverse Trump’s cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants and stop the separation of families at the border. There are currently over 500 children whose parents ICE have lost. Biden will work to find and reunite those families. Biden will end prolonged detention at the border and end the metering system Trump put into place as well as end the so-called Muslim Ban enacted by Trump. Biden will ensure ICE and CBP are held accountable and stop abuses of their power. Biden wants to reform our immigration system and modernize it, with a focus on humane treatment and empathy. Biden will also reinstate DACA and provide support for Dreamers and their families.

This year’s election is so important in the grand scheme of things. People need to get out and vote Biden overwhelmingly. We, as voters, have the power to change the course of history. We can vote for hate, nationalism, and authoritarian power not that dissimilar to what we learned about in high school history class r, we can vote for Biden. We can vote for a better future. We can vote to listen to science and have empathy. We can vote to uphold democratic and progressive ideals. We can vote for the person who will lead us to a better future.

Please, if you haven’t voted yet, go and vote for Biden. Our entire future depends on it.

Why You Should Vote Biden

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