SGA president, College Democrat president discuss their election reactions

By Kyran Crist / Online Editor

Everyone can figure what almost every American was doing on Tuesday, Nov. 3 2020. The entire world was watching for America’s reaction – the American Presidential election between Republican and incumbent Donald Trump, and Democrat Joe Biden.

Student Government Association president Zach Shanline and the president of the College Democrats club on campus, Morgan Armbrust, were two of the millions who sat and waited for results, which were still going strong Wednesday afternoon.

When asked at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night who they thought was going to win, the results were not as close to wrapped as was hoped, and were still too early to have more definite predictions on which candidate would win.

“As I look at the results coming in at this point, I truly cannot even guess who will come out with the 2020 presidential election,” said Shanline, a Pratt sophomore. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to guess, because of the tremendous amount of absentee and mail-in ballots that have yet to be tallied. ”

“I like Biden’s chances in Pennsylvania and Arizona. However, I don’t think there will be a winner declared on Election Night,” said Armbrust, who was correct. “The race will be over when every vote is counted. With the circumstances that this election is under, it is vital that American voices are heard without intimidation and suppression.”

Shanline and Armbrust were also asked how they thought the polls were going.

“The best thing I’ve seen from the results tonight is the historical amount of votes that are coming in. I think the American people did a fantastic job of doing their civic duties by heading to the polls or mailing in their ballots. It makes me happy to see the participation of all citizens, especially younger voters who have never voted before,” Shanline said

“I’m impressed by the showing that Biden is making in Texas. As a traditionally red state, it’s good to see Democrats run the Republicans down to the wire,” Armbrust said. “I look forward to once again having a president of honor and ethics back in the oval office. We have to begin the healing of our nation, and only one candidate can do that.”

Wednesday morning, Americans were hoping to have more definitive answers regarding the winning candidate, but the results were ever-changing and still too early to create a definitive guess on who will win. States like Wisconsin and Michigan were tilting toward Trump, but by the morning, had swung toward Biden.

Armbrust was not available for a follow-up, but Shanline was.

“I think the election is still too close to call,” he said. “The Election Day votes are in, and the votes yet to be counted are primarily absentee and mail-in votes. Unfortunately, the results and process will most likely go to lower courts, and litigations may begin looking into the counting of mail-in voting. I think the candidate will be chosen Thursday evening, maybe Friday morning. I just heard that Nevada, which is a very close state right now (about 8,000 votes), will not have all of their ballots counted until noon on Thursday. I think we all need to be patient and understanding that this delay is part of the election process.”

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