2020 has been…a memorable year. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many uncertainties for the world from the job market to healthcare and even going to school. But the United States 2020 presidential election has still managed to capture the country’s attention amongst the chaos. As of Oct. 31, 91 million ballots have been cast.
Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, visited Larimer County’s Democratic Office Thursday Oct. 29. Perez helped hand out signs, buttons and hand sanitizer to incoming voters and supporters. Supporters had the option to drive by the office to meet local Democratic representatives, Perez, and Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse.
“Fort Collins is an important part of Colorado,” Perez says. “There are a lot of votes here. And I also wanted to come up and say thank you to the firefighters who have been putting their lives on the line in the context of these unprecedented fires here. Their work is heroic.”
To Perez, this election is not just about electing the next president. It is about electing a president who wants to make health care accessible for all of the American people, who wants to fight climate change, and who wants to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The right to vote and express your voice is a crucial part of democracy, Neguse says. Citizens actively participating in voting and expressing their right to free speech is what sparks change in the state and country.
“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” Neguse says. “It requires active and robust engagement. And the best way to do that, in my view, is to exercise your right to vote. It is a sacred right that does not exist in a lot of places.”
This past year has been historic, and the 2020 election will go down as one of the most influential elections in our country’s history.
Many students at Colorado State University are voting in their first presidential election. Drop-off ballot boxes are located around town, including outside the Lory Student Center. Students who are registered to vote can also vote in the Lory Student Center north ballroom until 7 p.m. Election Day.
