The 2020 presidential election ended in with states yet to declare a projected winner as absentee ballots and mail-in votes are still being counted. // Photo courtesy Robert Kinnard.
Voters have been on the edge of their seats for months leading up to the 2020 election, with political tensions intensifying across the country as the race entered its final stretch. Americans stood by to see the long-awaited election results come in on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 3, hoping for some closure.
However, election night did not provide voters with much of a conclusion to the heated presidential race as absentee ballots and mail-in votes are delaying the results. As of the end of election night, former Vice President Joe Biden leads with 223 electoral votes and President Donald Trump trails with 212. Whoever collects 270 votes will win the presidency. Results are still too close to call in eight states, including several key swing states such as Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
“We’re caught in an election void,” said sophomore TV and film major Julia Hekimian. “I’ve been feeling anxious on and off for the past couple of days.”
Hekiman, an Arizona voter, said she was surprised by the current vote count in her state. “Biden is surprisingly doing really well over there,” she said. “To see him leading pretty far ahead has been a pretty surprising twist.”
Photo courtesy of The Associated Press.
As of election night, Biden had 53.2% of Arizona’s votes while Trump trailed behind with 45.5% according to the Associated Press’s election results.
“There’s likely a higher level of red [votes] than there actually is because there [are] a lot more conservatives who went to vote in-person,” said sophomore political science major Sneha Prabhu, who cited mail-in ballots as a possible reason why many swing states’ current vote counts are leaning toward Trump. “The House votes are really upsetting though. For all the anger and motivation I saw on social media to pack the House and Senate with Democratic candidates, the current results are super concerning.”
Prabhu also said she is concerned about the mental health of many Americans this week as election results slowly trickle in. “There’s going to be a palpable air of stress wherever you go,” she said.
Yelena Koos, a sophomore double major in music performance and psychology and a Texas voter, expressed similar concerns about mental health.
“I come from a state that is currently undecided … I am really anxious about seeing the outcome,” Koos said.
Texas polled in favor of the Republican Party on election night, with 52.2% of reported votes for Trump and 46.4% of votes for Biden, but the results are not finalized.
Koos said she has not been able to focus on her schoolwork due to stress caused by the election.
“I am focusing on [the election] and devoting a lot more time to this than I should,” Koos said. “What’s the point of [writing] an essay if the country is going to fall apart tomorrow?”
The political landscape in the United States has become increasingly hostile in recent months and incidents of alleged voter intimidation have been reported in swing states such as Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to USA Today. Some people fear current political tensions will reach dangerous levels as the country waits for finalized election results in the coming weeks.
“The nation is already so divided as is [and that’s] before we come to a conclusion,” Koos said. “I feel like we’re already kind of falling apart [as a country].”
