On election day, several hundred voters came to TJ to cast their ballots. photo by Emanuel Morales-Gomez
The results of this year’s presidential, statewide, and local elections.
On November 5th, 2024, millions of Americans cast their ballots. In the days and weeks before, over 80 million cast their vote through absentee ballots, mail-in ballots, or early in-person voting. The three months prior saw Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, in a close race for the presidency of the United States, with many polls showing the two candidates tied. On election night, however, Donald Trump swept the swing states to gain a total of 312 electoral college votes and won the popular vote, becoming the 47th president of the United States.
A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to become president. With the majority of states either solidly blue or solidly red, control of the White House hinged on just seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Throughout the night of November 5th, Harris and Trump both won the non-swing states they each were projected to win, and though Harris trailed the former president, the race remained close. At around 10:30 p.m., the winner of the first swing state was called—North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes would go to Trump. As the night went on, Trump won the swing states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, then secured his victory with a win in Wisconsin. These three states, along with the three other swing states that Trump won later in the night, were won by President Biden in 2020, giving Trump his 312 electoral votes, in contrast to Harris’s 226. However, even though Trump won the popular vote with over 76 million votes, beating Harris by around two and a half million votes, neither candidate won over 50% of the popular vote (Trump won 49.8%, according to the Cook Political Report). Compared to the 2020 presidential election, Trump gained over one million voters, while around nine million fewer votes were cast for Harris than had been cast for Biden. Not all ballots have been counted, however, so these figures are subject to change.
In Congress, Republicans flipped the Senate and retained control of the House of Representatives, giving the GOP control over all three branches of government with the previous conservative majority on the Supreme Court. In the Senate, Democrats lost three seats, giving Republicans a majority of 53 to 47 (this includes two Independent Senators in the Democratic count). Formerly, the Democrats had held a slim majority of 51-49, including the four Independent senators in the Democratic coalition. On November 13th, Republicans elected Senator John Thune of South Dakota as Senate Majority leader, replacing Mitch McConnell as the Senate Republican leader. A Republican House majority also became official on the 13th, with the party winning 219 seats compared to the Democrats’ 213 as of November 22 with 3 races still uncalled. Democrats lost several seats, including one here in Colorado, where Republican Gabe Evans defeated incumbent Democrat Yadira Caraveo.
On election day, voters waited in line for hours to cast their ballots. Polling locations were set up all across the country, with one even being here at Thomas Jefferson High School. For the most part, the process went smoothly. However, parts of several swing states including Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania received bomb threats. These were soon proven false and voting continued throughout the night. According to KJ Jefferson, an election judge at the VSPC (Voter Service Polling Center), election officials “work in bipartisan teams, and that helps lower the temperature a lot, because we’ve got multiple parties working together.” Though the electoral system can be very complicated and confusing, the system is “very secure,” and the election officials at TJ experienced no threats on election day. Jefferson herself has never experienced any physical threats over the course of her career, but an additional police presence was provided “in case we need something.”
Here in Colorado, many different measures appeared on the ballots of voters this election season. Other than Amendment 80, which would have created a constitutional right to school choice; and Amendment K, which would have moved up the deadline to file petition signatures for potential ballot measures, every proposed amendment to the state constitution passed. Notable amendments that passed include Amendment 79, which codified the right to abortion in Colorado; and Amendment J, which repealed a ban on same-sex marriage. In regards to propositions (proposed new laws), every proposition on the ballot passed except for Proposition 127, which would have prohibited the killing a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx; and Proposition 131, which would have required open primaries and instituted a ranked-choice voting system in general elections.
Locally, Denver voters also had many decisions to make. Denverites voted for various state elected officials, in addition to a dozen different ballot measures, all but three of which passed. The ones that did not were Issue 2R, which would have increased sales taxes by 0.5% to fund affordable housing; Initiated Ordinance 308, which would have banned the sale, distribution, and trade of fur products in Denver; and Initiated Ordinance 309, which would have banned the slaughterhouse in Denver. Notable measures that passed include Issue 2Q, which will increase the sales tax by 0.34% to fund Denver Health; and Issue 4A, which approved a $975 million bond to go to Denver Public Schools to pay for renovations.
Though election day is over and the president has been decided, general elections still happen every year. Next year, voters will again decide on measures that impact their communities. This election cycle, many different races were decided by a margin of just a few thousand votes, showing how important it is for every eligible voter to cast their ballot. As KJ Jefferson said, “we want every voter to vote because every vote counts.”
