The 2020 election is still too close to call. With mail in and absentee ballots still being counted, it’s tough to say who’s going to be the winner.

We’re having a record number of turnout this year, and that makes counting all those ballots even more difficult. It is expected that many of these will be finished by the end of Nov. 4. This will hopefully be the case because we don’t want to see this drag on for too long.

Biden is currently winning both the general vote and the electoral college, but Trump could still pull through.

With so many ballots left, it’s anyone’s game. As of when I’m writing this article on Nov. 4, Biden has 248 electoral votes while Trump trails at 214. Either candidate would need 270 votes to win.

In Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst won reelection with 52% of the vote, defeating Theresa Greenfield. In the House election, Ashley Hinson won District 1 against Abby Finkenauer here in Black Hawk County. There was a close call in District 2 between Mariannette Miler-Meeks and Rita Hart, Cindy Axne won District 3 and Randy Feenstra won District 4.

This far Republicans have 48 Senate seats, Democrats have 45, and other parties have two. Similarly, the House has 202 Democrats and 187 Republicans.

This red shift personally scares me. The Republican party has noted in their platform that marriage should be between a man and a women. This idea is harmful and challenges the laws we have in place already. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community I feel personally victimized by this statement from their party.

Not to mention, Ernst and Reynolds are both adamant about abortion and female reproduction laws. As a female, I have a right to my own body, and I hate that because of these women, I may have to give those up.

All Republicans cater to their party and this means they all acknowledge the above statements, and to them, it was not a deal breaker.

My rights are being challenged but people continually vote to further challenge them. I, along with so many other minoritized individuals, feel threatened and are tired of this nonsense.

The voters of Iowa have let down so many people this election, and we can only hope that there will be room to be saved by the states remaining results.  

Our generation fought so hard to be heard, as proven by the counties who did vote blue, and I genuinely hope they don’t lose their confidence going forward to more election seasons.