The right to vote is something to cherish, as many people across the planet do not get a chance to elect the officials who govern their countries.
The last day to register to vote is today, Oct. 13. Some states offer same day voter registration. We urge you to look into your current state of residence’s voter registration information by selecting your state at Rock the Vote.
Oct. 20 is when the United States Postal Service recommends sending in Mail-in Ballots.
The right to vote and participate in a representative government should never be taken for granted.
By voting, citizens can make their voices heard. However, there are many other ways people can get involved –– voting is just one way to get engaged.
Like many days that came before it in 2020, Election Day figures to be unique this year. The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of life as people know it, and it figures to change how they vote this fall as well.
State and local governments may be approaching Election Day differently as they try to juggle their responsibilities to make voting accessible to all while simultaneously keeping voters safe during the pandemic. Voters can do their part by taking the necessary steps prior to the Nov. 3, 2020 Election Day.
The Daily Planet did not receive any monetary endorsements from candidates nor did we receive any political statements from either party. All information was gathered through thorough research and from public remarks made by both main party candidates. All information provided is factual.
Republican Presidential Candidate ––
Donald Trump
This is the most important election in the history of our country. There has never been such a difference between two parties, or two individuals, in ideology, philosophy, or vision than there is right now. Our opponents believe that America is a depraved nation. We want our sons and daughters to know the truth: America is the greatest and most exceptional nation in the history of the world! Our country wasn’t built by cancel culture, speech codes, and soul-crushing conformity. We are not a nation of timid spirits. We are a nation of fierce, proud, and independent American Patriots.
Donald Trump (August 2020)
Donald Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States. He assumed office on Jan. 20, 2017, and filed to run for re-election on the same day. He crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the Republican nomination — 1,276 delegates — on March 17, 2020. He was formally nominated at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 24, 2020.
Trump’s running mate is Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump’s re-election campaign has focused on the economy, jobs, immigration and foreign policy. He described his platform, which he named America First, during his inaugural address: “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.”
Key policy initiatives during Trump’s first term include the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and First Step Act in 2018, reducing the size of the ISIS caliphate, and establishing the Space Force as an independent military branch. Trump has made more than 200 federal judicial appointments, including two U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Trump is heavily criticized for his delayed response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and his handling of recent civil unrest due to racial inequality across the United States. His disbelief that climate change is a legitimate threat to society is also criticized.
Democratic Presidential Candidate ––
Joe Biden
That is all that Donald Trump and the Republicans offer: Backward-looking politics that will harm the environment, make communities less healthy, and hold back economic progress while other countries race ahead. It’s a mindset that doesn’t have any faith in the capacity of the American people to compete, to innovate, and to win. And it will extract a deadly cost. I know better. And I know you do, as well.
Joe Biden (July 2020)
Joe Biden is the former Democratic vice president of the United States. He announced that he was running for president on April 25, 2019.
With the plurality of pledged delegates, Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee on April 8, 2020, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign. Biden crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination on June 5, 2020, and was formally nominated at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020.
Biden announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) as his running mate Aug. 11, 2020. He called her “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.” Harris is the first Black woman to appear on a major party’s ticket in the United States.
Biden framed his campaign as a challenge to President Donald Trump (R). “I believe history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time. But if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation—who we are—and I cannot stand by and watch that happen,” he said.
He represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009 before serving as vice president under President Barack Obama (D) from 2009 to 2017.
If elected, Biden will serve as the oldest President in US history.
Republican Vice Presidential Candidate ––
Mike Pence
Michael Richard “Mike” Pence is the 48th vice president of the United States, serving in President Donald Trump’s (R) administration. He was elected on Nov. 8, 2016, and sworn in on Jan. 20, 2017.
Pence served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017. As governor, Pence signed into law a five percent individual income tax cut in Indiana. He also supported the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, allowing individuals and businesses to exert a right to the free exercise of religion. In his first year in office, FiveThirtyEight ranked him as the second most conservative governor in the country.
From 2001 to 2013, Pence served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During his final year in the House, Pence was rated a far-right Republican leader based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack.
Pence’s spokesperson announced that Pence and his wife had tested negative for COVID-19 on Oct. 4, 2020. It was the third negative result for each since Oct. 2.
Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate ––
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from California. Harris was first elected to the Senate in 2016. She became the second Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Indian American to serve in the chamber.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced Harris was his running mate on Aug. 11, 2020. He called her “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.” Harris is the first Black woman to appear on a major party’s ticket in the United States.
Harris previously ran for president of the United States, entering the race on Jan. 21, 2019. She suspended her presidential campaign on Dec. 3, 2019, and endorsed Biden on March 8, 2020.
Harris is the former attorney general of California. She served in the position from 2011 to 2017. She also served as San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 to 2011.
On Oct. 2, 2020, Harris announced that she and her husband tested negative for coronavirus hours after President Donald Trump (R) announced he had tested positive for the virus.
Rep. Notable Endorsements
- David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan
- National Riffle Association
- National Right to Life Committee
- Proud Boys, a neo-facist men’s group
- Stacey Dash
- Sen. Ted Cruz
- Eric Trump
- Melania Trump
- Donald Trump jr.
Dem. Notable Endorsements
- AFL-CIO
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- President Barak Obama
- Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Rep. Ilhan Omar
- Human Rights Campaign
- Planned Parenthood
- Working Families Party
Stance’s on top priority issues
Rep. –– Climate Change
President Trump has rejected mainstream science and said in April, “Our carbon, our atmosphere, our – the level of environmental cleanliness is at it’s all-time best right now.” This is incorrect according to a majority of scientists. Trump has also pulled the US from the Parr’s Climate Accords.
Dem. –– Climate Change
Biden proposes $2 trillion in spending over the first four-year term and aims to achieve 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, heeding calls from Democratic progressives for a faster transition away from fossil fuels.
Rep. –– Criminal Justice
Trump sent federal law enforcement to arrest and harass Black Lives Matter protesters –– most notably in Portland, Oregon. He also pushed for separate deployments in other cities to broader efforts to escalate policing in response to violence. Trump also forced protesters from the White House for a photo op at a nearby church, ignoring outcries for justice.
Dem. –– Criminal Justice
Biden wants to eliminate the death penalty, solitary confinement and jailing accused criminals until they pay a cash bail. Biden pledged $20 billion in grants for states to reduce social ills like literacy and child abuse in exchange for scaling back mandatory-minimum sentences, which disproportionately affect Black and brown communities.
Rep. –– Healthcare
Trump has utilized executive power and the courts to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA), after years of failed repeal attempts by Republican lawmakers. Trump has not proposed a comprehensive replacement, despite a vow to deliver a better, less-costly healthcare system.
Dem. –– Healthcare
Biden vows to bolster the ACA. His preposed healthcare plan would cost $750 billion over 10 years and would be financed by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans, according to his campaign.
Election Day 2020 will be unique. Voters should not hesitate to take all necessary steps in advance of Nov. 3 to ensure their votes are counted this fall. Voters should also research candidates diligently, reading about their stances on issues and American rights in the United States.
