The next step for the history of the United States: An election day overview
Photo Courtesy of Colby Craig
Colby Craig, Staff Writer
The first Tuesday of every November marks the designated time for American citizens to vote for government offices. Many Americans were happy to exercise their right to vote on the president of the United States on November 5, 2024.
Most Americans in South Carolina were made aware of the official results early in the morning on November 6, 2024. The winner of the popular vote and the electoral college was former president Donald J. Trump. Many people were shocked with how current vice president Kamala Harris underperformed at the polls, leading to a decisive victory by Trump.
Alongside the presidential election, the senate and house were decided, which is crucial to determining the control the president actually has.
Dr. Jong Eun Lee, political science professor at North Greenville university said, “Rather than stating who I want for president, my bigger interest is whichever person becomes the president, I do hope that person’s party doesn’t win the Congress.”
The senate and house are crucial to determining the control the president actually has. If the president’s party controls the house and senate, he or she has a very strong advantage when it comes to the agenda the party pushes for.
Trump won the presidential election as a Republican, the house is currently majority Republican and the senate is also majority Republican.
While it is easy to get lost in the national representation of the U.S. government, state decisions are just as important. Of the seven districts in South Carolina, six voted republican candidates into the house of representatives.
There were two major questions on the ballot for Greenville County, South Carolina. One question dealt with amending the state constitution to simply clarify that only U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote. The other question dealt with adding a 1% sales tax to the citizens of Greenville County for the purpose of paying for over 1400 road related projects.
There was a general understanding to amend the state constitution for clarity’s sake, and so it went through, but the sales tax was a major issue for many voters. The enticement of fixing roads that many people complain about often gained a lot of support, but the majority of residents do not like the idea of having more taxes.
Even though the majority voted to withhold the tax, the vote was very close in the end. The vote was a little less than 8000 votes away from swinging the other way.
Local North Greenville student Chase Wilburn agrees with the decision to withhold the tax, “They already have plenty of my money. They need to budget better if they want better roads.”
A similar vote to impose a state sales tax was held in 2014. The vote did not pass for a similar reason to the 2024 vote. Many voters believe that the state receives enough money to pay for the roads they plan to maintain through the gas tax. Many people view this as a misuse of the money they already give to the state on a regular basis.
