The Corona Virus has impacted all of our lives over the past few months, on various scales. The economy has been thrown into a massive recession that the government is finding hard to accommodate, Students and workers alike have been thrown from their routines and even lost their jobs, and collectively we have been burdened with avoiding getting sick and ensuring the safety of our friends and neighbors. 

On top of all of this, COVID has struck during the lead up to potentially one of the most serious United States elections since the Nixon-McGovern race of 1972. This has put The United States as a country in a complicated set of circumstances. 

For one, the two candidates, President Donald Trump (r) and former Vice President Joe Biden (d), are both in their late 70s, far over the age 50 COVID high-risk marker. This leaves American voters in the position of knowing that whichever candidate they choose to elect has the possibility of being replaced at any point in their candidacy.

In a time of crisis, some voters have found themselves radicalizing and taking for better or worse. Many competent members of communities have begun donating must-haves to families or supporting essential workers while others are causing political and social disruption such as storming the state capital with firearms or blocking hospital entrances. This puts presidential candidates in the position of feeding the fire and radicalizing along with their base in order to gain popular support. 

What’s more, is that depending on the conditions of the coronavirus in November, voters may be pressed to choose between going to vote and putting themselves and others at risk or staying home and not voting. Proposed solutions to this issue are sending mailorder ballots to houses with registered voters or even holding online ballots.

Obviously, this is a stressful and difficult situation for all of us, and with the coming election on top of it, we are all under lots of pressure. But keep in mind, as with COVID-19, there are solutions to all of these electoral issues. We can all do our part to help flatten the curve and remain calm and civil while we are where we are.