Many upperclassman at Pleasant Valley High School will have the ability to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.
As 2020 rounds the corner, America is preparing for the election season. The Democrats still have 20 candidates in the running, however, only 10 will appear in the upcoming democratic debate.
According to RealClearPolitics, the leaders of the pack include Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, with Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg rounding out the top 5. These candidates will be facing off against current Republican president, Donald Trump. The Democrats are eager to get the Trump Administration out of Washington as foreign and domestic tensions rise.
There is a strong influence of teenage voting for this upcoming election, mostly due in part to the gun violence in the nation.
Here are the top three democratic candidates and their stances on key issues:
Joe Biden: Former Vice President Biden is leading in the polls as the top democratic candidate for the 2020 election. He is experienced in the political field as he served as Delaware’s senator from 1973-2009. As an experienced politician, he has impactful stances on some of America’s most pressing issues. He supports universal background checks and firearm buyback programs. He also supports abortion, however, not funding the clinics. He would legalize marijuana, while decriminalizing those who have been punished for possession. He wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour as well.
Elizabeth Warren: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is currently serving her second term in the United States Senate. Warren has a progressive view for the country, which influences her ideas as president. Most of her ideas are based economically: raising federal minimum wage to $15/hour, imposing an “ultra millionaire tax” to allow for an increase in funding for childcare programs and making college free. However, she also focuses on pressing issues, such as gun control. She wants to impose a ban on assault weapons and follow through with universal background checks.
Bernie Sanders:Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is known for holding some of the most progressive views of any candidate. Following the scandal during the 2016 election regarding election hacking, Sanders would eliminate electronic voting and make paper ballots mandatory to reduce election fraud and keep the elections a fair game. Similar to Warren and Biden, the Vermont senator agrees with raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, legalizing marijuana, and making college free. If Sanders became president, he would eliminate the $1.6 trillion in student debt that Americans hold. This is an issue that sets him apart from all other candidates as no others hold that viewpoint. Part of the senator’s agenda also includes a federal firearm buyback program and an assault weapons ban due to the common gun violence in the U.S.
