Since the United States had its first presidential election, they have been a true test of the candidate’s character. SCHS students and staff find that every day, there seems to be more controversy added to the 2024 elections caused by former President Donald Trump’s indictments, the media’s involvement, and the perspective America has on how President Biden runs the government.
In the past few months, Trump has been charged with numerous crimes, including his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat. Social science and English teacher Maichen Liu-Grossman believes voters should be less focused on one’s personal opinion on the candidate being charged and more on the fact that a potential president is being indicted and what that says about their character.
“I’m hoping that when (voters) are in that little election booth, they’re gonna think to themselves, ‘Wait, this guy has all these charges and even though I might not think that they’re fair, it’s going to make everything so much more complicated for him to run a government and will he be able to do an effective job?’” Liu-Grossman said.
Librarian Johnathan Wilson added that in America, if one is a convicted felon, they are barred from voting. He believes that because of this, if one is convicted as a presidential candidate, that person should not be allowed to run.
“We’ve talked about elections, presidential elections, expanding the electorate, and expanding opportunities for people who normally wouldn’t have those opportunities. But convicted felons would be an exception to that,” Wilson said. “Personally, I think that you, nationwide, can’t vote as a felon.”
Trump is not the only potential candidate who has to worry about the public’s eye. Sophomore Skylar Mechlin noted that within the past three years Biden has been president, Americans have judged his decisions in office.
“I think public perception of Biden is probably not where you’d want it to be, and because of that, even whether a lot of these things are Biden’s fault or not, people still will blame him for inflation, gas prices, and a lot of controversies that are perceived to have been caused by this administration,” Mechlin said. “I think that going into the election, Biden is probably in a negative light.”
According to Wilson, there will be a lot of similarities in next year’s election compared to the 2020 election. The issue of the defeated candidate having to accept their defeat illustrates how far a candidate will go to win.
“This is something that the past two elections have been unique in that America has a long tradition of not challenging the outcomes of elections. Now, that has been not only put to the test but put to the stress,” Wilson said.
Senior Natalie Tsung thinks that next year’s election could change the electoral environment around the country, within schools especially.
“I think future elections will bring a lot more attention to background and criminal history, and it’ll promote more voter education or possibly, learning about it in high school when people first learn to vote, or just starting initiatives to spread information for voters,” Tsung said.
Looking into the future, Wilson believes that what America needs is to become united again for the 2024 election as voters, citizens, students and humans to ignore the political divide and recognize what is best for the country.
“There are global causes that bring Americans together, whether it be just wars or unjust wars,” Wilson said. “If society could rally around something like climate change, then perhaps it could bring people together for a common cause.”