I’m walking home from Washington Square Park carrying a sign in my right hand that asks, “What does this election mean to you?” I painted the letters in teal acrylic paint that I had bought for a craft project that failed to keep my mind occupied and my room organized during my endless hours inside recently. In my left hand, I’m carrying my keys. My house key—the sharpest one—is tucked between my pointer and middle fingers, as it always is when I’m walking home in the city after dark.
I’m a block away from my apartment when a man stops me. His body is blocking mine from crossing Houston. He first announces his presence through body language only. He stands a stoic (and not socially distant) three feet away from me with arms folded across his chest. He is maskless, dressed in head-to-toe leather with a blonde mullet tickling the back of his neck. His presence makes me more aware of the impromptu weapon in my left fist. I can feel the cold metal of my house key pressing into my palm. He looks me in the eyes as he opens his mouth, spits on my shoes, and screams “TRUMP 2020.” I pause for a second, stopped by shock and the crosswalk sign that has now turned red, and look around. Did anyone just see that?
The whole of 2020 has been one big Did anyone just see that?
Need some examples? How about: Melania Trump repeatedly swatting Donald’s hand away from her, Carol Baskin on Dancing with the Stars, the fly on Mike Pence’s head during the Vice-Presidential Debate [Mike could’ve used some of Melania’s swatting skills in this moment], or the scene of Rudy Giuliani in Borat 2—all of which have happened in the past month, by the way.
My evening before this standoff on the corner of Houston and Broadway was great. I had sat in the park for two hours with my crooked teal-lettered sign talking to New Yorkers. Talking about their fears, their hopes, their experiences. But mainly, I wanted to know about the upcoming election and what it means to them.
Because this election means everything to me. It means maintaining my rights to my body through access to reliable, affordable, and safe reproductive healthcare. It means that I can start learning to navigate a mid-covid world as an immunocompromised individual. It means that millions of voices will be heard and healing will begin.
It means anticipating a world in which I may not have to carry my keys in between my knuckles as I walk home.
It means hope and fear and dread all in one.
This endeavor to investigate what the election means to others started a few weeks prior during a 2am Twitter scrolling session. I saw a tweet from a woman that said that she was about to go stock up on Plan B in case Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court (spoiler alert: Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court). I paused, staring at the tweet. I had originally interpreted the tweet as a joke, breathing out quickly through my nose and smiling—what we all actually do when we type “lol”. However, I quickly realized that this tweet wasn’t an exaggeration. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t an overreaction. It was a forewarning of what reality could (and probably will) look like very soon for many people who are protected under Roe v. Wade, Griswold v. Connecticut, and many other landmark court cases. It was a reminder of what the four previous years of a Donald Trump Presidency has brought us: fear and desperation.
This presidential election is the first one in which I am eligible to vote. And honestly, it has been hard to find my footing as a first-time voter in a country that is barely functioning and extraordinarily polarized. This is the first Presidential election in which I am eligible to vote, but it is arguably the most crucial one in contemporary America.
After this realization, I needed to know that I wasn’t alone in my fears as a woman, an American, and a voter. I needed to know that this election means as much to others as it does to me. So, I set out to ask New Yorkers and my family and friends from across the U.S. that very question that I asked myself at 2 am less than a month ago: What does this election mean to you?
Below, you will read the responses I received to my question (and the subsequent questions that inevitably followed). Most of these answers were obtained through oral interviews in Washington Square Park, but some were obtained through a survey, which can be found and completed here. I have presented the responses to the questions in a variety of ways: collages, pie charts, and qualitative data. It is my hope that the variety in presentation makes the answers visually appealing, concise, and enticing.
What does this election mean to you?
Why is this election important to you?
What is one word to describe how you’re feeling about the upcoming election?
What is the biggest issue at stake during this election? (climate change, reproductive rights, etc.)
What is one question that you’d like Biden and/or Trump to answer?
QUESTIONS FOR BOTH CANDIDATES TO ANSWER:
What do you think is the biggest threat to our democracy without mentioning political parties?
What would you say to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are grieving the losses of loved ones due to covid-19?
Is there a pee tape?
How will you protect high risk populations from coronavirus?
Why are there such HUGE gaps in resources among public schools? Why are communities of color disproportionately affected and how are these children not expected to fall victim to the school-to-prison pipeline?
What do you think the primary issue is and what is the desired outcome?
Why should you get our vote as opposed to the other old white perverted man? (Applies to either candidate)
What is your definition of leadership and what traits does a leader possess?
How will you bring the country back together genuinely?
QUESTIONS FOR TRUMP TO ANSWER:
Trump: how can you continue to tell such outrageous lies and expect anyone to take you seriously?
Trump: who do you owe money to?
Trump: please explain how you are the “least racist person in the room.”
Trump: why is confirming ACB the right thing to do when republicans wouldn’t allow Obama to nominate a judge to the Supreme Court 6 months before he was due to leave office?
Trump: who do you owe all this money to?
Trump: how can you sleep at night knowing how you have destroyed our country? I would ask this to Mitch McConnell as well.
Trump: will you step down peacefully if you lost the election?
Trump: do you feel like your actions don’t have consequences?
QUESTIONS FOR BIDEN TO ANSWER:
Biden: how are you going to fight systemic racism?
Biden: will you take away your (senior citizens) heat in the winter and A/C in the summer?
I think they both are who they are at this point. I guess it would be to Biden. “Are you going to keep with the platform written in part by the progressive wing of the party or are you going to run to the center if things get rough?”.
Biden: did you sell access to foreign governments?
Biden: you previously said you stand with all women who come forward as victims of sexual assault. What then do you say to Tara Raede who is adamant that you sexually assaulted her in 1993?
Biden: will you end the filibuster?
Why has Biden been part of our government since 1972, but he now says 2021 is when he will bring change?
Do you have faith in American elections?
The “Other” category comprised of the following answers:
I have faith in vote counting itself in many elections. Not all
Sometimes? Maybe?
I do not think American elections are perfect, nor do I think that we have the best system of electing representatives. However, if the question is about whether I trust the results of the election this year, the answer is yes.
I have faith in the election process but voter suppression is active now
If you don’t have faith in it, then you don’t have faith in America.
It S.U.C.K.S. In the state of Wyoming, a person has 1vote for 70 people in California.
I did before 2016.
I really want to have faith.
I’d like to personally thank everyone who participated in this piece, whether it be through talking with me in the park or through filling out my survey. I am so grateful for the cooperation and the conversation that these questions evoke. I would like to encourage everyone to have these hard conversations with loved ones, neighbors, friends, etc. Please, please, please VOTE!
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