Behind the scenes of the Campaigning of the 2020 Election

The 2020 election has been proven to be like no other. Last night, Election night, truly showed how important patience is. Many are anxious as to what the results will be. But this year we're expecting slower counts, and the reason is straightforward: In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many states modified their voting rules, broadening access to mail-in voting and increasing what had already been a rising mail-in voting trend. And mailed-in ballots — with envelopes to open and signatures to check — simply take longer to tabulate than in-person votes. Senior Melina Sandel mentioned the rise of social media and its influence in the election. “Although the majority of the vocal Gen Z cant vote, it shows hope for democrats who see that soon, the United States will be governed by mostly Democratic young voters. On Instagram it is common ground to see students posting about what they believe in whether that be Trump or Biden, and I’m not sure about anyone else, but some of my opinions have been swayed because of these infographics.

This year in particular our generation got to see the importance of political education throughout our social media platforms and the significance of voting and publicizing your voice. Many people used their huge social media platforms to urge young voters to get involved and cast their votes. Social media played a huge role in voter turnout. I am sure that all of us saw the register to vote all over our social media platforms that is Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook. Senior, Isabella Mule says, “Through social media it really opened my eyes to a lot of the issues happening around our country and around the world and really inspired me to learn more about these issues myself. While I’m still only seventeen and can’t vote this year I am happy that I have become more educated about these topics.”

The campaigning methods on both sides were extremely influential this year. Something was Biden’s ad partnering with Taylor Swift and only the young song. Only the young began as an effort to engage young voters. Further helping with the young voter turnout. This clip begins with Harris questioning, “Why are so many powerful people trying to make it so difficult for us to vote?” This year in particular through advertisements and social media it is evident that we all have a voice and it deserves to be heard. Not only that, for all of Election Day, the Trump campaign dominated the homepage of YouTube. If you click through to the campaign’s channel, you’ll find featured videos with clickbait-style titles like “Trigger Warning” and “Prevent a Zombie Uprising.” The thumbnail of the last video, which is the same 10-second ad on loop for more than 30 minutes, features Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s face turned green and flanked by the zombie emoji. Both candidates spent an evident amount on campaigning Biden spent an estimated 500 million dollars on advertising this year alone this includes on television, radio, and online advertising. Trump spent a little below this being an estimated 400 million on advertising this year. Both margins are tremendous, and it has definitely shown. Voter turnout has increased dramatically based on estimates for this election. Senior Gavn Sandel remarks, “Every show, ad, and campaign that I see brings their message back to voting. When I watch football, the term “VOTE” is sprayed on the field. Celebrities appear in commercials telling the U.S. to vote. It is for sure remarkable.”