Episode 105: The Upcoming US Presidential Election

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Ian: Hey everyone, you are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And today we're going to be discussing a hot topic that everyone's talking about, everyone's worried about, and something coming up really soon that's not really only important for the US, but important for the whole world is the upcoming US presidential elections. So, 2020 has been a crazy enough year with COVID, with fires, with racial protests, and to throw it into the mix, we have a very, very important presidential election this year. So, we figured it would be really important to discuss what's going on for all of our listeners because it can be really complicated and you can hear a lot of different information from news sources. So, hopefully, we can set this straight and give you guys a better idea of what is going on. So, remember if you get lost, go online and check out that audio guide and transcript. Okay, Paige. Where do we even begin with this crazy year and this crazy process?

Paige: Yeah, I know. I think because a lot of our audience is outside the US, I'll just start with just a really brief overview of how the presidential elections work in the US. It's a little different than most countries because we have the popular vote which is everyone votes, it counts, whoever gets the most votes wins the popular vote but that doesn't mean they win the election. In order to win the presidential election in the US, you have to get over 270 electoral votes, and that's through the Electoral College. And basically, the bigger the state, the more electors you have, and so you want to win those big states as a candidate in order to win the election. And that's exactly what happened in 2016 was Clinton won the popular vote but she lost in the electoral college vote—Trump won. And so that's always a little tricky for most people outside of the US because they're like, but she won the popular vote. But we have this funky, archaic system called the electoral college that has some controversy. Some people want to get rid of it, some people want to keep it, but we'll leave that aside for another time. But yeah, to start in, I guess, we have two candidates—one on the Democratic, which is the left side, one on the Republican which is the right which is the incumbent. It's Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And so, it's been quite a weird race because of COVID, you don't have the campaigning that you normally see, you don't have any of these events that Trump really loves. It's been a pretty weird election, to say the least. So, Ian, you're abroad, how are you voting for this election?

Ian: So, usually it's a pretty common process whenever you vote in person in the US but if you can't make it to the polls then you have to do what's called absentee ballot voting. And so that's what I've done here in Chile, I actually already sent in my vote a couple of days ago. It was surprisingly really easy—a lot easier than I thought it would be. Usually, you have to fill it out by mail. So, you get it by mail, you fill in the paper, and then you usually have to take it to the embassy and the embassy will send it by regular mail. How things are this year because of COVID and all the complications, most states are allowing electronic or faxing or emailing. For example, I had my ballot sent from my state, Missouri, and I just had to fill out my vote, and scan the vote and send it back to the office through email. So, I was really surprised at how simple it was and that was something I was concerned about because we all know the mail is extremely slow—a lot slower than usual—and so, even just getting my vote back in time for November 3rd would have been pretty difficult. So, I'm glad that they allowed for this option and it was a real sigh of relief.

Paige: I think it's something that a lot of people are concerned about, even within the country, because mail is slower and most people vote in person but with COVID, we're going to have probably one of the first elections where most people are voting by mail. And that means that we might not know who won until after November 3rd because you can send your ballot in with the timestamp of the election day. So that means it could get there, who knows when? So, I think that was kind of crazy for people because most elections you know that night, who won. But this year, who knows?

Ian: That's a really good point. I mean, this year, this election, we've never had something like this before. It's new boundaries for everybody and so it's going to be really strange to not wake up on November 4th knowing who the president is. It's very likely that we have to wait weeks or months to collect the ballots, and you know, of course, Trump has talked about contesting the results if he loses and so that could further complicate things, as well. So usually, we find out that night but I have a feeling it's not going to be that way this year. And another strange thing about absentee voting is this is the first time that I won't be voting in person. And another thing that's strange about voting in person that I get questions from people all the time is when is the election? And the election is always on the first Tuesday of November. And the more I think about it, and the more I talk with people who aren't from the US, the more I realized how strange it is that we have the election on a Tuesday. Because in other countries, for example, here in Chile, the presidential election is always on a Sunday, which makes sense. Most people aren't working, they don't have to ask for vacation. It's a national holiday, so it's carved out to where people are allowed to go and vote, they don't have to worry about taking off work and all these complications. But in the US, we have it on a Tuesday, meaning that you either have to ask off for work or you have to hope that your boss is cool with you not being at work to go vote. And a lot of people who don't have this kind of flexibility, they either cannot leave work to go vote, and they can't exercise their freedom their right as a citizen. And for me it's always been, it's just really, it's frustrating and it's confusing. I don't understand why we have this system where it would be on a Tuesday. It seems like it's almost designed to try to get less people or keep more people from voting. It seems like, I don't want to say corrupt, but it seems like it's rigged. It's like, why wouldn't you have the election on a Sunday when everyone is able, almost everyone, is able to go?

Paige: I feel like you're surprised by the numbers every year of voter turnout. It's really not as high as most people think. I mean, it hovers around 60-70%, which is like, what? How are only that amount of the population actually voting for the president? So, it's kind of sad, and I thought it was interesting, in Chile is that this is a bad rule because it was because of the dictatorship, but you were legally required to vote. It was part of your civic duty and it was illegal not to. And I think that's a little extreme, but at the same time, I do feel like voting matters and we shouldn't be 60% of the population voting. If you want to really represent everyone's voice, we all have to vote—it is kind of a duty. I don't think it should necessarily be mandated but there should be some kind of incentive. Like you said, make it easier where it's on a holiday. Maybe every Tuesday, everyone gets that day off or something like that. Because it could just be people, frustrated by the system but that's a low voter turnout.

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Paige: So, Ian, if people haven't really been paying attention at all to the election, the two candidates we have—former vice president and current president right now. You watched the debate a couple of nights ago, tell me what you thought.

Ian: I thought it was a train wreck. I thought it was one of the worst things I've ever seen. I thought they were both very unprofessional, very unpresidential, and quite honestly, it's pretty embarrassing. It’s an embarrassing representation of the US and, you know, especially compared to previous debates. We got to a point where they were just talking over each other, insulting each other, saying things and, like you said like we talked about before the podcast, it was giving us headaches just trying to pay attention to what everyone was saying. To me, it just looked like a couple of little kids having an argument instead of two people that are supposed to be leaders of our country. And I think a lot of people are nervous, and a lot of people are embarrassed and worried, because we have a population of over 330 million people, and these are the two people that were given to vote for. I think a lot of people just feel like we just don't have good choices, once again, which was another thing that people were thinking in 2016.

Paige: I feel like that debate really showed the candidates ages. As I read and told you before the recording, is that these are the oldest candidates we've ever had being in the general election and so whoever wins is going to be president at 74 or 77 (years old), which is very old for such a stressful job. And with a global pandemic going around, they are the most vulnerable population and as we just heard, Trump has COVID-19, and so that throws a whole wrench into everything of like, what are the symptoms? Is he going to be able to be in the election? It's still a month away, will he still be able to go on the debate? So, there are all these kinds of other complications now. It's like, well if Trump is off the ballot, people have already voted, who's going to take his place? There are just all these questions, it's such a weird year.

Ian: It's funny—well, it's dark humor, for sure—because it's like we're saying, just when you think 2020 can't get any worse or any weirder there's always a wrench to throw in, and really make things weird. So even with a month left, like you said, a month doesn't seem like much time, but a lot can happen in a month. So, we're just going to have to keep our eyes peeled, our ears open, and see what happens come Election Day.

Paige: I think it's tough and everyone's a little apprehensive about predicting the election because as you probably abroad you are a representation of the US, people asking you, who do your think's going to win? And after the surprise election that the pollsters did not call in 2016, you see the polls that Biden is favored, but no one really believes the polls anymore because they were so wrong last elections. And it's also even trickier because of COVID. It’s, you know, are we getting our finger on the population, right now, when everyone's locked inside? It's kind of hard to really predict. I have no idea who's going to win even though the pollsters are like, Biden's favored. According to what?

Ian: Exactly. And, like you said, we're seeing a repeat of 2016 in the sense that, people before the 2016 election, including myself, we said, “Oh, Hillary is going to win. It's not even going to be close.” And our reality changed last year and we saw who won. And so, it's not so easy this time around to say, okay, Biden's leading by seven, eight, nine, ten points or percent—he's going to win for sure. Like we said, a month is a long time during a presidential election, especially the month before the election date, and so again, get your popcorn. Get ready to see a show—it's going to be wild. That's the only way I can describe it, I guess.

Paige: The only, I guess, good thing is that in the US, the campaigning for an election starts basically after one end. So, it's like you have four years of campaigning, there's the election and then you have four years of campaigning. And I think for a lot of voters, COVID was kind of a distraction from the election for a bit and it's probably a good way because you're just fatigued by it. But now it's crunch time, we're all trying to catch up and we're like, oh these are candidates, what's going on?

Ian: Exactly. We just have so many other things going on in a normal election year, there's not that much to worry about besides the election.

Paige: Exactly, yeah.

Ian: Now we have a global pandemic, forest fires, racial protests. I mean, this year has just been unprecedented and so for a lot of people, they're like, “Oh my God, you’re right. We do we have an election going on.” So, it's almost like, it's just another one of these crazy things going on that we have to keep track of.

Paige: So, as me and Ian said, we are no experts, we have no idea what's going to happen on November 3rd. So, we'll all just have to sit and wait.

Ian: Sit and wait. Fingers crossed that that we get to 2021 in one piece.

Paige: Yeah, exactly. Well, as always, if you get lost listeners check out that audio guide and transcript. Thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll see you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     to throw into the mix (idiom): to add something that makes a situation more difficult or confusing.

a.     2020 has been strange enough without throwing into the mix a national election.

2.     to set (something) straight (idiom): to explain something clearly and truthfully.

a.     I want to set the record straight on what was said during the meeting.

3.     Electoral College (noun): a group of electors representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

a.     Donald Trump won the 2016 election thanks to the Electoral College.

4.     funky (adjective): strange; weird; odd.

a.     Do you see the funky way that he walks?

5.     archaic (adjective): very old; old-fashioned; outdated.

a.     The archaic system was invented a long time ago.

6.     incumbent (noun): currently in charge of the governing office.

a.     Trump is the incumbent candidate in the 2020 election.

7.     campaigning (gerund): working in an organized and active way in order to gain a political office, usually traveling from state to state.

a.     The candidates usually are campaigning hard this time of the year.

8.     polls (noun): places where people vote in an election.

a.     There will be far less people going to the polls in person this year.

9.     ballot (noun): the piece of paper used to record someone’s vote.

a.     I had my ballot sent by email this year.  

10.  timestamp (noun): a stamped mark indicating a particular time and date used on items sent by mail.

a.     Many votes can have a timestamp until the election day.

11.  to contest (verb): to argue against something; to dispute.

a.     It is likely that Trump will contest the results of the election if he loses.

12.  carved out (adjective): established or created through effort.

a.     A national holiday needs to be carved out so that everyone can vote.

13.  rigged (adjective): purposefully manipulated against someone.

a.     Sometimes, I feel like the elections are rigged.

14.  voter turnout (noun): the number of people who vote in an election.

a.     Voter turnout should be higher than it usually is.

15.  to hover (verb): to remain at or near a particular level or amount.

a.     Inflation will hover around the four percent mark.

16.  civic duty (noun): responsibility as a citizen of a particular society or government.

a.     Many people feel that it is their civic duty to vote.

17.  mandated (adjective): required; obligatory.

a.     Some countries have mandated voting systems.  

18.  vulnerable (adjective): in need of special care or protection due to age or disability.

a.     The old candidates are vulnerable to dying in the office.

19.  to throw a wrench (idiom): to prevent something from happening smoothly or successfully.

a.     They threw a wrench into the problem and now it will take them much longer.

20.  peeled (adjective): open.

a.     Keep your eyes peeled for anything that might be dangerous…

21.  apprehensive (adjective): anxious or fearful of something.

a.     He felt apprehensive about going home by himself.

22.  to have your finger on (something)(idiom): to discover and understand the reason why a situation is the way that it is.

a.     We don’t yet have our finger on the true feelings of the American voters.

23.  fatigued (adjective): very tired; exhausted.

a.     People are so fatigued from hearing about the horrible debate.

24.  crunch time (noun): the period of time when the pressure to act is highest.

a.     October means that we are in crunch time before the election.

25.  unprecedented (adjective): never done or known before.

a.     This year has been unprecedented in so many different ways.