It’s 8 a.m. You have class at 10. Enough time for a good breakfast and nice read in the morning. So you go to the kitchen, fix yourself an omelet, put some coffee on the pot, and pop down at the kitchen table with the Wall Street Journal.
But wait. Something’s totally wrong with this picture—we aren’t our parents! We don’t keep up with the nation’s news this way, if at all. We might follow the New York Times on Twitter, see brief clips on CNN at the gym, watch outtakes from SNL on YouTube, or catch campaign ads that happen to interrupt our favorite TV shows. And realistically, living in the “Wake Bubble” makes it difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the political sphere.
But election season is quickly approaching, ladies, so it’s important to get updated on what’s happening! Fear not, I am here to help! Here are 4 basic things everyone should know about the election right now.
1. Your Vote Matters!
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many young people haven’t registered to vote. Maybe you weren’t 18 for the last election or are just too lazy to go to the post office. Either way, now is your opportunity to get involved! Voting is the easiest way that you can make a difference. The youth of America is a huge portion of the electorate, and we really do matter in this election! We shouldn’t stand idly by, letting everyone else make the decisions for us. We need to make our voices heard. Many students register in their home states, but you can also consider registering in North Carolina. You may think it’s too much work to fill out an absentee ballot if you aren’t from North Carolina or are going abroad in the fall, but truth be told, it really isn’t that hard. Organizations like Rock the Vote provide all the information you need to know about where and how to register and vote. It’s super easy, and all you have to do is fill out an online form and then send it in the mail. Your voice is important and should be heard! http://www.rockthevote.com/
2. The Election is November 6, 2012.
This year marks the 57th presidential election in which everyone will be voting for the president and vice president. Unless something crazy happens, we will be voting for the Democrat and Republican candidates. The victor will be determined through the electoral college, which is composed of 538 electors that represent the states based on their number of members in the Senate and the house. In all states except Maine and Nebraska, electors will vote based on which candidate wins the vote in each state through a winner-takes-all system.
3. Barack Obama
Obama will be seeking reelection as president of the United States for the Democratics. He came into office in 2008 with a campaign for hope and unity. He began his presidency in a time of a severe economic downturn. His hope for his time in office was to restore jobs and economic security to the middle class. He has had many successes but also a few mishaps. Some say that the problems he has experienced are caused by the mess left by the previous administration. He has promoted bipartisan relations and been very moderate in most of his policies in order to try to compromise some with Republicans. At this point, it seems the condition of the economy and unemployment will be the key factors in his reelection. If the economic indicators show improvement in the fall, President Obama may be difficult to beat.
4. The Republican Candidates
The Republican (or GOP, which stands for Grand Old Party) candidate has not yet been chosen and will not be until the Republican National Convention at the end of August. The race for the nomination started out with characters such as Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, and Jon Huntsman. The ones still left contending for the nomination are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. Based on various primary results it seems like Romney and Santorum are the real competitors. It appears that in some of the battleground states left, both of them have an equally likely chance of winning.
Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts who is advocating more jobs, less debt, and smaller government. He is considered to be a more moderate conservative but has flip-flopped his views on several issues. Rick Santorum is a former Pennsylvania senator who has been advocating very socially conservative positions. At this point it seems pretty evenly split between Romney and Santorum but it’s not yet time to write off Paul and Gingrich. Primaries are coming up in Arizona and Michigan, and it will be interesting to see where this twisting and turning road to the Republican nomination will end.
So far, the onset of the 2012 election has been very surprising and entertaining. The forerunners for the Republican candidate keep changing, and many of the primary elections have been very close. Stay tuned for more updates, and register to vote if you haven’t already!