“Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
As election day comes into focus, predictions as to what the outcome will be have been numerous, and different, across the nation. Some predict a landslide victory for incumbent Trump, whereas others are certain that challenger Biden will prevail. More frequently, the forecast reads marginally, with a small percentage of the voter population determining winner and loser. Professor Ashley Delshad from the WCU Political Science department weighs in on what West Chester results may look like in November.
Chester County is something of a swing county; sitting on the edge of the Republican T and the Democratic Philadelphia, it has slowly edged toward a Democratic majority. If this trend is to continue, it seems likely that Chester County will be blue in the 2020 election.
“All of the suburban counties now have a majority of registered voters who identify as Democrats. In Chester County, this is a milestone in particular as it is the very first time Democrats hold a majority among registered voters,” Delshad explained.
Of course, COVID-19 has reworked the voter demographics of college towns like West Chester. The remote learning style of the Fall 2020 semester has greatly affected the number of young voters and therefore the number of Democratic voters residing in the area. Not only would this interrupt the current trend in political party data but also the increase in young voters experienced by the 2016 and 2018 elections. Delshad voiced that though students may not arrive at precincts as was predicted, she still hopes to see a number of WCU student votes cast.
“West Chester precincts will almost certainly have lower numbers of young voters than in 2016. However, I am part of the university’s “Voter Engagement Task Force,” and we are working to make sure students are aware of their voting options wherever they are residing. So, while we won’t have as many WCU students voting in West Chester as in previous elections, I am hopeful that WCU students will be voting at a very high rate.”
For students that plan to vote on election day, it is crucial that they come prepared with everything they may need to vote. Whereas previously it may have been imposed on voters to bring a form of identification, it is now imposed on voters to bring any unused mail-in ballots that they may have. Regardless of the reason for not using these ballots, they should be turned in to poll workers.
“The poll workers will destroy the mail-in ballot and provide them a ballot to vote in person,” Delshad said. “If they do not take the entire mail-in ballot with them, they will be forced to cast a provisional ballot — this type of ballot is not counted right away because election officials will have to do the extra work of ensuring they did not submit the mail-in ballot to ensure there are no attempts at double voting.”
Less specific to Chester County, there has been nationwide concern surrounding the use of poll watchers this election. Poll watchers are citizens that volunteer to stand at precincts on election day as a way of promoting transparency and honesty in the polling booth. The Trump campaign has been actively organizing a coalition of poll watchers coined as “Trump’s Army,” which has raised concerns about voter intimidation at precincts.
Laws regarding who can be a watcher and what a watcher can do vary but ultimately aim to protect against voter intimidation. They protect against large numbers of poll watchers conjugating at a single precinct as well as physical boundaries between watchers and voters. Delshad encourages any voter who feels these laws are being broken to inform poll workers, who are trained to handle these situations.
Concerns about voter outrage and possible violence after the election have also been a nationwide discussion. Some universities have even gone as far as to form protection groups for students that are more likely to come under fire. WCU may not be threatened to such an extent but should maintain a watchful eye on its student population.
“I think it is undeniable that this election cycle, on top of the pandemic, has created an incredibly stressful situation for many students,” said Delshad. “This is likely to escalate further after November third as we all wait for a determination of the outcome — which is going to take days, and probably weeks. It is possible that bad actors will engage in hate crimes, similar to the wave of hate crimes following the 2016 election … it is important that the university supports students in any and all ways that are feasible in the remote learning context.”
Between poll watchers and post-election outrages, there is a lot that is yet to come in this election. Combined with remote learning changing voter demographics, Chester County is truly the heart of uncertainty and a model of what living in 2020 is like. Though this may not look like previous elections, it is still an election nonetheless, and students are encouraged to vote any way they can.
Caroline Helms is a second-year English major with minors in Political Science and Journalism. CH923631@wcupa.edu