On November 7, 2020, former Vice-President Joe Biden was announced as the 46th president-elect after a long and tumultuous election season, having won the electoral votes of Pennsylvania.

As of November 19, former Vice-President Joe Biden won 306 electoral college votes while President Donald Trump won 232. This election also produced record-breaking voter turnout and new popular vote records. Biden broke President Barack Obama’s record of most votes ever cast for a U.S. presidential candidate, while Trump received the most votes ever cast for an incumbent U.S. presidential candidate. 

However, this election is far from over as there are still numerous lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign contesting the results with allegations of voter-fraud in states where Biden was declared the winner. Several of these lawsuits, including a couple in Pennsylvania, have been thrown out by the state’s respective federal courts. 

In addition to the lawsuits being filed, the Trump campaign requested a recount in Georgia and a partial recount in Wisconsin, which were both states were Biden was projected to be the winner. 

Trump has also still refused to concede to Biden as he believes Biden won the election unfairly. 

Many people across the United States have differing opinions on the outcome of the election and what they think will happen with the lawsuits. Some people are happy that Biden won the election, while others are claiming that voter fraud, when uncovered, will flip the election results in favor for Trump.

In the Moravian College community, two words that were heard often amongst the students surveyed was “bonkers” and “rigged.”

Many students stated their support for Biden winning the election and cited feeling “relieved” and “glad that Biden won and even more glad Trump lost.”

Marley Palmere, ‘22 stated, “Biden’s win gives me hope for the future. It has been too long since a sane adult was in the White House.” 

Haley Rudofker, ‘22 expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I am so incredibly happy that Joe Biden has been elected. He is going to be a very good leader for our country.” 

Some students expressed that they believe Biden won fairly and were surprised that Trump was even leading by as much as he was.

“I’m genuinely shocked by how close it was given Trump’s terrible track record and what the polls were indicating,” said Dominic Trabosci, ‘22.

“I’m glad Biden won, and I think he won fairly,” said Maya Johnston, ‘22. “[However], it was still very nerve-racking and stressful.”

Even though Biden is the projected winner, as a country there is still more work that needs to be done in order to correct systematic issues in our country’s government, as well as holding politicians and other Americans accountable. Rachel Kelly, ‘23, agreed.

“Extremely disappointed at how many people are against supporting equality,” Kelly said. “While I am happy Trump lost, I am not happy that Biden won because I feel that we can do better. I hope that all who voted for Biden will continue to check him and the system, refusing to compromise for rights, justice, or equality. I, for one, refuse to settle with ‘the lesser of two evils.'”

While overall most Moravian students we surveyed preferred Biden winning over Trump, there were still some students who were not happy that Trump lost and believe this was due to voter fraud, despite there being no solid evidence of this fraud.

“It’s not over because it’s in the Supreme Court and it’s gonna get sent to the House [of Representatives] to have the 12th amendment enacted,” stated Sarah ‘23. “People had voter fraud all over the country in many states.”

Even though this election was considered to be one of the most important elections in our nation’s history, there were still some students on campus who were not comfortable voting in this year’s election for various personal reasons.

One student surveyed cited their lack of awareness of the election or candidates platforms to be the reason why she did not vote in this election.

“I did not vote because making a decision that important requires that I follow all of the latest things on the election,” said Victoria ‘21. “I did not have time [to follow the news on the election], so it would just be Eenie, Meeny, Miney, Mo on the ballot.”

As with the United States as a whole, the Moravian College community was just as split on the results of the election. 

Personally, I was ecstatic Biden won as it also gave me hope for our country’s future.

However, I do believe that this win doesn’t mean we stop working for change. Our country has a long way to go in regards to systematic issues in the government in order for everyone to have equity. As Americans, we need to do better and need to hold people accountable in order to start making strides towards change in our society. We need to be more empathetic towards one another. 

I also believe that the divisive and negative rhetoric used consistently throughout the last four years has negatively changed people’s attitudes towards one another and towards politics in general, as well as the trust in conspiracy theories and not medical professionals has been rather concerning to me.  In spite of all of this, I do believe that as Americans, we can move past this dark chapter in our nation’s history and rebuild our country for the better. 

While there is a difficult road ahead for the United States, there will be a President inaugurated on January 21, 2021, and this presidency could continue the United States on the path of darkness or could turn it around and bring the country on the path back into the light.