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Side-by-side profile of Former President Trump and Vice President Harris.

In light of the presidential election tomorrow, it is only fitting to discuss the importance of being an informed citizen. Many seniors–including myself–are able to vote in this election for the first time. This new responsibility is not only a way for us to contribute to democracy, but also a privilege that requires research and formed opinions.

My goal in this article is to provide an unbiased, accurate source that outlines a few key issues that I think will be of interest to DCHS students. It will discuss the positions on these issues of both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. My intent is to contribute to an informed citizenry and help the DCHS student body–specifically those able to vote–establish their political opinions. 

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EDUCATION:

Vice President Harris believes that education is a fundamental right. Because of this, she wants to implement a universal Pre-K, ensure debt-free college, and increase teacher pay. In addition to this, Harris consistently emphasizes the importance of HBCUs: historically black colleges and universities. Before the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s, HBCUs were the only source of access to education for African Americans. During Biden’s presidency, over $16 billion dollars were spent towards the upkeep of and access to HBCUs. Vice President Harris says that she plans to give an additional $1.3 billion in additional funding to HBCUs. 

Former President Donald Trump calls for the removal of the Department of Education, a stand-alone federal agency that was established in 1980. It monitors school performance and funds K-12 schools; although, it only accounts for approximately 10% of the funding for these schools. Instead, he wants states and local governments to be solely responsible for K-12 schools, saying that they will be able to best provide needs to individual communities. Trump also calls for “universal school choice,” believing that tax money should not automatically fund public schools, but rather can be put towards education at whatever school the individual students choose to attend.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Kamala Harris calls for legislation to be passed by Congress that guarantees abortion access nationwide and protects the rights that were previously guaranteed by Roe vs. Wade. Similarly, she promises that she will “never allow a national abortion ban to become law.” As for contraception, Harris also believes in nationwide access and plans to fund over-the-counter contraceptive methods. 

Donald Trump believes that the states should continue to decide matters of reproductive rights. However, he has declared that he would not support a federal abortion ban. But he does not believe that abortion should be made available in the states during the last three months of pregnancy. Also, Trump supports exceptions in state abortion bans in the case of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk.

HEALTHCARE: 

Kamala Harris wants to lower prescription drug prices, including putting a price cap on some prescription drugs, specifically insulin. The Obama administration successfully passed the Affordable Care Act in March 2010–more widely known as Obamacare. Harris wants to focus on strengthening this by continuing to push for lower health insurance costs, medical debt forgiveness, lower healthcare prices, and expanding Medicaid-health coverage to people below the Federal Poverty Line. 

Donald Trump agrees with Harris that medicine prices are way too high. He wants to fix this by promoting choice and competition; that is, giving tax incentives to companies who are researching to create a new drug. By doing this, Trump hopes to expand access to more affordable prescription drugs. 

ENVIRONMENT: 

Kamala Harris adamantly opposes expansion of offshoring drilling for oil and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the United States, as it poses many environmental concerns. Instead of investing in offshore drilling in order to become less dependent on oil from the Middle East, Harris pushes for investments in alternative options, such as solar power. 

Donald Trump supports offshore drilling for oil and hydraulic fracturing in the United States. He wants to make the U.S. the country with the cheapest electricity and energy in the world. Ultimately, Trump does not want the U.S to be dependent on the Middle East for oil, especially as OPEC and other oil cartels are continually raising prices. To accomplish this independence, Trump proudly says “Drill, Baby, Drill”–funding extensive fracking and drilling for oil on protected federal lands despite the many environmental concerns.

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These are only main issues to consider as you are forming your political opinions. While many voters do not align with Democrat or Republican on every single issue, it is important to weigh your options and decide which–if either–political stance best fits your morals and priorities. 

If after reading this article you are still unsure of your political opinion, I would advise taking the https://www.isidewith.com/ quiz. It asks you a comprehensive list of questions and uses that collected information to determine which political stance you seem to take. 

Whether you are confident in your political stance or still figuring it out, remember the importance of being informed. Perhaps my most important message in this article is that if you will be 18 by tomorrow, GO VOTE!

Information used in this article is from the following sites:

The White House

Newsweek

The Associated Press

NBC News

Chalkbeat