Written by: Kyleigh Kozel (kk003@marietta.edu)
Attention voters! There are just a few weeks before the upcoming elections in Ohio as well as across the nation. For those looking for a quick summary of the 2024 election season, we will be breaking down what voters can expect this November.
A few key issues are capturing voters’ attentions, with one significant issue being here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Ohioans will be voting on Issue 1, which addresses the role of politicians in the redistricting process. A ‘yes’ vote would make it illegal to gerrymander districts, ensuring that election boundaries are drawn fairly without giving an advantage to any political party. This would ban current or former politicians, political party officials, and lobbyists from serving on the redistricting commission. It also mandates the creation of a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission, which would operate under an open, independent, and impartial process to establish fair districts.
In addition to the local and state elections, the U.S. presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris continues to heat up, especially in battleground states. The biggest battleground state happens to be our neighbor, Pennsylvania, and both candidates have been making frequent stops in the Keystone State trying to win over voters. Both Candidates made their most recent stop in Pennsylvania on Monday, October 14th on opposite ends of the state.
Some other battleground states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. This year, voters are focused on critical issues such as border security, economic recovery, the opioid crisis, reproductive rights, lowering energy and family costs, and tax reform. Each party has been doing everything they can, due to the high stakes of this November 5th election. This election and critical issues have made this election year important even for those who were not interested in politics before. Both campaigns are pushing hard to sway voters ahead of Election Day and we could see a historic presidential election after it is all said and done.
For information on how to vote this election season contact your local election board or visit VoteOhio.gov or your own individual state’s voting website.
Edited by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
