Abnormal presidential election affects, mobilizes voters
By Matt Mallian and Elizabeth Elder
Gabriela Alvarez spent last summer as an intern on the speechwriting staff of Vice President Joe Biden, learning the ways in which politicians shape their speeches in order to disseminate information to an audience.
Just months removed from that experience, it’s hard for Alvarez, an Elon University senior, to draw parallels to the presidential election, which will take place Nov. 8.
“It’s definitely hard to watch,” Alvarez said. “(The 2012 election) had so much hope in it. This election season, I feel like there still could be, but it’s just being trampled on by all of the scandals that come out in the media.”
This election season has seen Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump show a remarkable amount of distaste for one another.
“I’ve seen other poisonous elections for sure,” said Michael Skube, an associate professor of communications at Elon. “So is this unprecedented? That’s one of those words that I hesitate to use, but there haven’t been many like this, no.”
Skube said the most recent election he can remember with a similar tone to 2016 is that of 1980, when Ted Kennedy challenged incumbent president Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination.
The contentiousness of the upcoming election has manifested itself in recent acts of violence in North Carolina. In mid-October, a flammable device was thrown in a window of the Republican Party headquarters in Orange County. On Nov. 4, the GOP office in Alamance County was vandalized with graffiti of an obscenity directed towards Trump.
“It’s an unfortunate thing,” Alamance County GOP chairman Ben York told ABC11 WTVD in Raleigh. “Really, it’s sad that someone wants to express themselves that way as opposed to having a civil discussion and talking about where we have differences.”
Despite the rhetoric being portrayed by Clinton and Trump, it seems Americans are unaffected in their voting efforts. A Nov. 6 report cited record numbers of early voters in Florida, North Carolina and Nevada, which are all considered swing states.
“Folks in North Carolina are really recognizing that this is really a very high-stakes election,” a spokesperson for the “Hillary for America” campaign said. “I think on the ground, people do have a sense of urgency to get to the polls and make their voices heard.”
Recent media coverage has been centered on Clinton’s alleged misuse of her government email account, as well as Trump’s sexual assault allegations. According to Pew Research Center, voter satisfaction with presidential candidates is at its lowest level in decades. The survey, which was conducted in June, had support levels around 40 percent for both candidates.
“Research has long shown that voters do not like negative campaigns, and they particularly do not like personal attacks,” said Thomas Carsey, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Voters view both the target of the attack and the person making the attack in more negative terms, but usually the target of the attack is harmed more.”
Despite the harsh remarks that have been made throughout the process, Americans are tuning in to the process at a record rate. The first presidential debate on Sept. 26 was the most-watched presidential debate in history, with 84 million viewers.
“I think voters are interested in the campaign. Social media traffic is high and television viewership — especially of the first general election debate between Clinton and Trump — was very high,” Carsey said. “I think a significant number of voters are not excited about the election or inspired by one or either candidate running for president, but many remain interested.”
At Elon, student groups have made a concerted effort to start a conversation on controversial topics. The Elon Politics Forum has held multiple student debates between the College Democrats, College Republicans and Young Americans for Liberty. Though hot-button topics are encouraged as sources of discussion, the goal is to remain civil, which is more than can be said for Clinton and Trump at times.
“Amongst the candidates, they’re going at it pretty hard, but I think on campus we’re pretty civil,” said Matt Corman, president of College Republicans at Elon. “We have a frank discussion of the issues for sure, but I think we’re pretty civil here.”
The first meeting of the College Democrats this academic year served as a gauge of interest, as members were asked to list the topics that they were most interested in discussing. Each subsequent meeting was focused on one of the topics, with a twist. One meeting in particular was titled, “pizza and gun control.”
“I think that’s a good thing to do because within a party, there are still disagreements on issues,” said Morgan Bodenarain, vice president of College Democrats at Elon. “Having those conversations will help to inform students, which will turn them into informed voters.”
The political groups at Elon try to mirror their professional counterparts whenever possible, as it’s a way for them to learn and grow. But both Corman and Bodenarain said it’s been hard, at times, for them to find ways in which they want to follow in the path of Clinton and Trump.
The focus of their respective campaigns is often drawn away from the candidates’ concrete policy platforms and instead to the latest scandal that arises. While working as a speechwriting intern at the White House, Alvarez learned the importance of policies and how much they can impact an audience, political party and country.
“It’s been so scandal-driven and less policy-driven,” Alvarez said. “You have to know about the character and how they’re going to enforce those policies and get it done, but you mostly have to agree with their policy platform to vote for them.
“I don’t think the public has been educated about (policies) enough this election. We’re judging (Clinton and Trump) based on the scandals that come out, and those change every single day.”
