In the United States, the Tuesday between November 2 through 8 of every four years happens to be one of the most important days of the year, and this years’ election was no exception. So far, 2020 has definitely been a year of struggles. With the conclusion of the election, many hope that their participation as a voter will contribute to potential resolutions to all of the problems thrown our way. Because you have to be 18 years old to vote legally, it is difficult for people below that age mark to voice their own opinions. However, David Hoppe, the department chair of mathematics, sent out a mock election to all students to collect information from those who could and could not legally participate in the 2020 vote.

“I thought that this was an enjoyable way for me to involve myself in this year’s election, especially since it has seemed very controversial,” Reagan Weeks ’22 said.

On November 3rd, Hoppe released a google form at noon and closed it at 12:15 p.m. This ballot asked questions regarding aspects that could affect a students’ vote in any way. For example, “Who do you think your parents will vote for?”, “What type of phone do you have?” and “does your family have any political signs in its yard?”

After the results were gathered and evaluated by Hoppe’s statistics class, the election’s overall winner was candidate Joseph R. Biden, beating President Donald J. Trump by approximately 11%, a 27 vote difference. Some were surprised at the results, while others were sure Biden would come out on top based on the student dynamic.

“I would have to say that I am surprised by the results of the in-school election; I would have assumed that many at Country Day would have picked Donald Trump,” Sawyer Pardue ’22 said.

Now, you may be wondering about where the other candidates stood in comparison to the leading adversaries. Jo Jorgensen of the Libertarian Party beat Howie Hawkins of the Green Party by a 2.1% lead and a five-vote difference. Jo Jorgensen earned only six votes, which is not surprising as candidates from those parties are typically not viewed as serious opposition to Biden or Trump.

Standing out from all other voters, about 5.8% (14 students) chose the ballot option saying, “I chose not to vote this year.” Was this because this year’s election was controversial? Did they not like either candidate? Or did they simply just not want to participate?

“I think some people did not want to vote because they did not want to share their beliefs or opinions,” Jack Carmichael said.

What do you think?