On November 7, 2020, the battle between Donald Trump and Joe Biden to become the next President had officially ended with Joe Biden winning 270 electoral votes with the help of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, key states that contributed a tremendous amount of electoral votes to Joe Biden’s campaign. Although the victor has already been decided, others believe otherwise and call voter fraud. One of the prominent figures raising these claims is the 45th President himself, Donald Trump. He filed, with other Republicans, several lawsuits on the voting ballots and demanded recounts in states to potentially turn the tides in a last minute effort to gain more electoral votes.

There are some positive and negative effects of the electoral system, and one such negative is potential voter fraud. Although this might be a factor, no other president has filed for a lawsuit against the voting count and demanded a recount of votes. After Donald Trump had filed on these accusations, there was much backlash on his actions and many deemed it as some sort of last resort option and many have gained optimistic views towards our President-Elect Joe Biden. Chanah Park, a junior at Cypress High School, stated, “I think that Trump’s response to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election is quite unprecedented. I don’t believe that any presidential candidate in United States history has not accepted a loss. Regarding President-elect Biden’s current progression, I am optimistic that he will treat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with the severity that it should have been handled with when it was first brought to our nation’s attention.”

Others have concurred on such issues as Frederick Suh, a junior at Cypress High School, stated, “Trump should accept his defeat and give a concession speech because he already lost the electoral college and was way behind in the vote count. His claims of ballot fraud are unproven so I don’t understand why he refuses to concede the election. I believe Biden will do a great job unifying the country.”

With Biden’s victory already closed out and concluded, Donald Trump attempts to rebut the fact that he lost votes from major countries that were initially leaning towards a Republican presidency. As Trump puts forth lawsuits, some of which have already been dismissed, we look towards President-elect Joe Biden’s advancements as the 46th president of the United States as a hopeful and optimistic future for America.

<Kenneth Yang / Fairmont Preparatory Academy 12th Grade>