Some voters are conflicted and confused, while others are having a change of heart
By George Burburan, Brian Kraft and Alex Villasis
Election Day is finally here. According to the New York Times, there are already almost 100 million votes submitted by mail and through early in-person voting.
While there are voters who have already made their choice on who to vote for, there are other voters who are considering switching parties, and others who are still undecided.
“It is about 3 to 5 percent tops, very little are truly undecided,” Jim Gerstein said. Gerstein is a founding partner of GBAO, a firm which specializes in political survey research and strategic consulting. Some individuals are having trouble choosing a candidate or party due to having split views on certain topics.
While there are some voters still having trouble deciding who to vote for, there are also people who are prepared to vote for parties they did not support in previous elections. According to Pew Research, since 2018 certain demographic groups have switched parties.
The personality and past actions of both candidates have played into voters’ indecision.
“I don’t like the way the President speaks to women or the way he speaks about them,” Hailey Taggart said in a phone interview. Taggart, 25, is a voter from Broward County, Florida. Though Taggart dislikes President Trump, she does not care for Biden either. “He gives me the creeps,” Taggart said. Taggart pointed out a video of Biden talking about children playing with his leg hairs as an example of why she feels the way she does about Biden. Taggart believes she is going to vote for a third-party candidate.
Another reason why voters are undecided is because of particular policies that conflict with their views.
“I have very strong liberal social and very strong conservative economic issues,” Nikki Wheelis wrote in a Facebook post. Wheelis, 43, is a preschool teacher’s aide and a voter in Southampton, New Jersey. Wheelis then explained why she is having trouble deciding which candidate to vote for. “If Trump were to focus solely on what he will do and stop negative attacks that focusing on bashing Biden, he could win my vote because I do believe a Democratic run government will inch us closer to socialism,” Wheelis wrote. She then closed her post by explaining why she is hesitant to choose Biden. “I don’t know if there is anything Biden could do because ultimately, I think the progress that we’ve made on social issues will remain in place with or without him. But our fragile economy can’t take the hit of having a Democratic led government,” Wheelis wrote.
As both Biden and Trump have been in the public eye with interviews and during the presidential debates, both candidates have made statements that have rubbed people the wrong way.
“I was raised Republican, but I don’t know what I am now,” Marquees Kelley said on a phone call. Kelley, 25, is another voter from Broward County, Florida. Kelley is African-American, and two controversial statements by both Biden and Trump have made him reconsider who he’s voting for. “You have one that’s is visibly racist and says ‘Proud Boys, stand down and stand by,’ and then you have the other who says ‘if you don’t vote for me you’re not black,’”
Kelley said. Kelley then made a point that both candidates should focus on speaking to the people in general, and not bring up race all the time. “We are all just humans, why do we have to get color mixed up in the race,” Kelley said.
Some people who are members of the Republican party are now having trouble deciding whether to vote to keep Trump in office, but aren’t ready to commit to voting for Biden instead.
“I don’t think Trump handled the coronavirus situation well, just look at
everyone who has died so far, I also wasn’t fond with the comments Trump made about the George Floyd situation,” Ryan Ritter said. Ritter, 27, is a Florida resident and also is a boat captain who works for Elite Yachts Services. Ritter has been a Republican his entire life, and while now reconsidering voting for Trump again, Ritter believes he won’t vote for Biden either. “I believe Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are trying to turn this county into a socialist country, which I disagree with doing,” Ritter said.
There are still other voters, who, while undecided, are beginning to lean towards voting for President Donald Trump due to disagreements with Biden’s policy plans if elected, and appreciation for what Trump has accomplished during his administration.
“The raising of taxes by Biden, such as the capital gains tax, it could affect guys like me,” Greg Sturgis said on a phone call. Sturgis, 61, is a mechanical technician at B.W. Air Conditioning, and is also a Florida voter. Sturgis also was alarmed by Joe Biden not answering certain questions during the presidential debates. “Not answering questions about packing the court, and also the confusion about the Green New Deal doesn’t sit well with me,”
Sturgis said. Sturgis then went on and explained what he feels Trump has done well while being president. “I think what Trump has done with taxes has been good, such as his tax breaks, also receiving stimulus checks during these times that helped all of us,” Sturgis said.
Florida is considered to be a key swing state this Election Day. According to The Hill, Florida is one of five key states to watch during the race, and is especially crucial to the Trump Administration. “Florida is an absolute must-win for Trump to have any hope of winning the election.” And in a crucial state that could decide the election, there are voters ready to switch parties.
Jack O’Donnell, 56, of Coral Springs describes himself as an independent voter. In 2016, O’Donnell voted for Hillary Clinton. When asked his choice for 2020, O’Donnell described himself as still undecided but leaning toward Biden. O’Donnell, who retired several year ago, said that he will probably wait till election day to decide. “The funny thing is, I agree with the President on most issues, I just wish he would act more presidential,” O’Donnell said, referring to Trump. “Why does he have to behave like such a jerk?” O’Donnell added.
O’Donnell’s sentiments mirror the results of polling done by Republican pollster Frank Luntz.
CNBC reporter Kevin Stankiewicz reported that an October 16 poll by Luntz indicated that voters still undecided, “are nervous about Trump’s persona and they are nervous about Joe Biden’s policies, and that’s what is holding them back.”
Luntz believes that this is bad news for the President. “History tells us that in the end, if they haven’t decided to support the incumbent, that they end up two to one supporting the challenger.”
While voters like O’Donnell represent one set of independent voters, another group of voters with independent views might be labeled crossover voters. These are voters whose views on a variety of issues would indicate that they favor one candidate when in fact they strongly support a candidate who represents the opposite.
One such individual is Ella Vitaly, 49, of Coral Springs. Vitaly, a registered Democrat, labels herself as a socialist progressive. During the 2008 Presidential election Vitaly’s home was dotted with over 100 signs supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama. Her home attracted the attention of the county Democratic leadership who featured her lawn artwork in their party newsletter. So how is it 12 years later, Vitaly finds herself ready to vote for Donald Trump?
Vitaly is strongly anti-war. While she disagrees with Trump on almost every issue, Vitaly believes that Biden is in the pocket of the military-industrial complex. Vitaly is disturbed by the demonization of Russia which has taken place within the Democratic party. “I voted for Democrats with the hope that they would fix matters like healthcare and the minimum wage, instead they waste time impeaching Trump and bashing Vladimir Putin and Russia,” Vitaly said. Vitaly referred to Joe Biden and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi as “phony corporate tools who line their pockets serving the elite.”
Vitaly, a retired Macy’s manager, says she is voting for Trump because she believes he is more upfront as a person. “At least the guy is honest,” Vitaly said. Vitaly’s views are not shared by lifelong Republican Russell Davis, 53, of Coral Springs.
When asked why a lifelong Republican like himself would vote for Joe Biden, Davis responded by saying: “Trump lies.” When asked what specific lie he is referring to, Davis answered: “Everything, don’t you listen to NPR and CNN.” Davis, a restaurant manager, agrees with Joe Biden that the greatest threat to the security of the United States is Russia and Vladimir Putin.
“We need a president like Joe Biden, who does not bow down to Putin, we have the most powerful military in the world, we can invade any country,” Davis said. “Iraq had the fourth largest military on the planet, look what we did to them.”
Davis clarified that he feels it would be best to avoid invading Russia right now. “They do have nuclear weapons, so we have to be careful. While it would be easy to just go in and invade them and remove Putin, the threat they might launch a nuclear strike upon us limits our options now to economic sanctions.”
With early voting now well underway, signs of record voter turnout and strong youth participation are emerging, both things that might be troubling for the President.
CIRCLE, based at Tufts University, writes that youth voters are turning out in record numbers in Texas. They also claim that: “significant increases among young voters were logged in other battleground states, like Florida, North Carolina and Michigan.”
According to the U.S Elections Project more than 7.8 million Texans have voted so far. This amounts to 87% of the total votes cast in the state during the 2016 presidential election.
All is not bad news for the President however, as Politico is reporting that Republicans are beginning to storm the ballot boxes in Florida. According to Politico: while “the Democratic advantage was still huge as of Saturday morning: 387,000 ballots,” this is a 21% reduction from a Democratic high-water mark set on October 21.
According to CNN: “The number of ballots cast in the Sunshine State is double compared to this point in 2016.” CNN also reports that the racial shift from the 2016 election has changed with the percentage of white voters decreasing and black voters increasing their shares.
As of now, Democrats have an overwhelming lead in votes cast so far, but Republicans are just beginning to gear up their ground game. As it stands right now, according to FiveThirtyEight, Biden is favored to win the election. And whether the results are announced today or in the near future, the United States of America will either begin a new era under Biden, or have four more years under Trump.
