The 2020 presidential election was one of the most important elections in American history, not only because the results were to affect the state of the world, but also because the way that the election was handled became one of the most controversial elections ever.
The election of 2020 was held in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was not like any other normal election. The election was held on November 3rd, but the results weren't finalized until January 2021.
There were many differences with the current election. The voting process started way before the election started, and some states took up to 6 months to deliver their final vote counts.
On top of that, the voting system was changed, and people could vote by mailing their ballots. This and many other circumstances caused confusion and somewhat mistrust in the elections.
All the anger and confusion of the supporters of Trump caused them to go to Capitol on January 6th, 2021, and try to raid it.
Trump’s Opinion on the Election Process of 2024
In Trump's latest campaign, he announced his suggestions for a fair and clear election.
Here are Trump's suggestions for the upcoming election per his interview on March 27, 2023.
Making the Elections a National Holiday
Elections are not considered national holidays. The democratic party is heavily against making that happen since they care more about early voting.
This topic has been discussed many times, and still to this day is considered a controversial topic. Trump considers having the election day off a great help to everyone who wants to vote. Some people can not leave their jobs to vote, and in some states, the employees get paid for their time off to go and vote.
So, there are two problems with making elections a holiday. The first one is that the entire Democratic party is against it and they support early voting. So if you can't get time off your work, you can vote ahead of the elections.
The second problem is that many people would have to lose the payment that they would get on the day of the election. It's like a whole day off when you would normally get paid.
On the other hand, if Election day becomes a national holiday, the competition gets much more serious, and it will all come down to one single day. Simply whoever wins on Election day wins the presidency.
Voting Should be Done by Paper Ballots (Physical Votes)
In the last election, due to the pandemic, the voters could vote using voting machines and submit their votes digitally. Trump wants to terminate the existence of machine voting and resort to the traditional paper ballot method.
Each district and county would have to count the paper ballots by hand up until midnight, like many many years ago. Elections are not a new thing in the world and have always been done in physical form. All around the planet, paper voting is considered the most eligible and reliable method, as compared with the electronic method.
Trump suggested that there can be exceptions for the voting system in the cases of the ill, the elderly, and those who work jobs that don't allow them to leave their workspace, like military camps.
Observers to Keep the Elections Trouble-Free
Trump suggested having observers on the election site to protect the election results and watch the polls from morning up to midnight.
Same-Day Voting
It might seem odd but the last election in America took months. The votes were all over the place and there were different systems for voting. The election was the most complicated, and it was separated into different states. Each state started to announce its own dates for when they'll hand over the results and that made people confused. Ideally, you want people to know who is the president at midnight on Election day.
But things are different in the US. The voters do not vote directly for the president. They vote for their state's Elector. And then, members of the electoral college vote on the behalf of their state. In the end, Congress counts the electoral votes and announces the results of the elections.
Wrapping up
Donald Trump criticized how the 2020 Elections were held since the first day. Whether or not these changes take place, there is no doubt that the election process is complex. Simplifying the process can bring us clear results, but since we're in politics, nothing is simple and everything has the potential to be complicated.
The changes requested were only mentioned in his speech, and it is not clear whether they will be implemented or not.
