After an unprecedented summer in politics culminating in Kamala Harris receiving the Democratic nomination right here in Chicago, we, UC Dems, believe she has earned our votes in her bid to become the next president of the United States.

This year’s presidential election is a choice between two contrasting visions for America. One candidate, if elected, will revive some of the darkest elements of our country’s past and take away many of the freedoms Americans have long fought to secure. Former President Donald Trump is responsible for severely limiting reproductive access across the country by appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. With potential Republican majorities in Congress, his allies are preparing to criminalize the shipments of abortion pills, end Planned Parenthood funding, and implement a National Abortion Ban. While we are fortunate enough to reside in a state that protects the right to choose, many members of the UChicago community have had their reproductive rights taken away from them by Trump’s abortion bans. If elected, Trump will continue to erode the freedoms of all Americans.

Trump’s most zealous promise is directing law enforcement to carry out the “largest deportation in American history,” while granting special immunity from prosecution to the police. His recent unsubstantiated attacks on legal immigrants of Haitian origin in Springfield, Ohio, as well as his pledge to suspend DEI programs, demonstrate he will perpetuate an America that is hostile to cultural diversity. While Chicago and our university may embrace diversity, we live in a bubble. States like Florida have banned teaching of AP African American studies and severely restricted basic sex education, while severely restricting LGBTQ+ rights.

Trump will also restrict our oft-vaunted right to free expression. After promising to “terminate” parts of the Constitution, Trump recently proclaimed, “One thing I [will] do is, any student that protests, I [will] throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they’re going to behave.” 

So much for free speech; Louisiana Republicans have required public schools to display the Ten Commandments, an egregious government overreach and clear violation of the First Amendment. While Trump and his allies will continue to evade the Constitution, Harris will protect our nation’s essential rights, including free expression.  

The oldest presidential candidate in history, Trump is a candidate of the treacherous past. Vice President Harris has made it clear: we are not going back. Not to Trump’s America. 

Harris represents a new generation of leadership with a forward-looking vision. She has spent her career fighting for the people as a prosecutor, U.S. senator, and now vice president. As president, she will protect the most fundamental American freedoms that are under attack by Trump and extreme Republicans. She will ensure that women have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, pledging to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

Republicans, including Trump, evade accountability by shifting blame for border issues onto Harris. However, the reality is that the Vice President took charge of addressing the root causes of migration by leading economic development initiatives in Central American countries. If elected, Harris will sign the bipartisan border legislation crafted by Congress earlier this year that includes resources to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the country and advance the technology used by law enforcement at the border—the bill self-admittedly killed by Trump. While Harris believes in a secure border, she also understands the value of America’s diverse immigrant community, many of whom call Chicago home. Her plan for comprehensive immigration reform modernized the asylum system and created pathways to citizenship. Harris also promises to protect undocumented immigrants who have spent years working and paying taxes from deportation. Trump has demonized immigrants in the United States for his political gain, but fails to note that immigrants, both legal and undocumented, commit less crime than native-born citizens, and have long been crucial to our country’s economic success, paying almost a sixth of all tax dollars collected by federal, state, and local governments. A mass deportation carried out by a Trump administration would not only be inhumane government overreach, but leave our nation’s economy in ruin. 

As a prosecutor, Harris has dedicated her career to getting illegal guns off the streets, putting violent criminals behind bars, and fighting for criminal justice reform. Her track record of holding violent offenders accountable, alongside her longstanding and candid recognition of the racial bias plaguing our justice system, demonstrate that she has the depth and expertise necessary to address the systemic policing failures that continue to harm our communities.

While Trump and his fellow Republicans continue to respond to deadly shootings with merely “thoughts and prayers,” Harris will take action on common sense gun reform: banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, mandating universal background checks, and implementing red flag laws. Indiana’s loose gun regulations and background check failures result in the illegal re-distribution of Indiana-purchased guns in Chicago. Federal action proposed by Harris will cut off the lifeline of the illegal gun trade that has cost so many innocent lives. Thanks to gun safety reform under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, violent crime is now at a 50-year low. A President Harris will work tirelessly so all Americans can live free from gun violence.

As vice president, Harris also cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history. As San Francisco district attorney, she helped set up one of the country’s first environmental justice units, tasked with limiting pollution in underserved neighborhoods. Harris will continue fighting for a clean energy economy, creating millions of new jobs while safeguarding our planet’s future. 

Harris will also be an effective leader on the global stage. She will prioritize crafting a peace agreement in the Middle East and preserving our democratic alliances around the globe. Trump continues to cozy up to autocrats like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, pledges to sever relationships with longstanding allies, and, through his divisive rhetoric and failed dealmaking, will incite more chaos in the Middle East. 

But why vote? As you may know, young people have the lowest voter turnout rates in the country. In 2020, we saw near record turnout for 18–29 year olds, while 50 percent of eligible voters stayed home. UChiVotes will be working tirelessly for the next few weeks to get every eligible voter the information they need to make their voices heard. If you’re fed up with the national government, as so many are, this is the time to make your voice heard. For a new way forward, we urge you to consider voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the presidential race. 

Many have impassioned criticisms towards both candidates alike. It’s prudent to think critically about these candidates, both of whom embody flaws within our nation’s two-party system. There are other presidential candidates on the ballot who may even have platforms you can get behind. But the only third-party candidates on the ballot in enough states to even hypothetically win the election—Libertarian Chase Oliver, Independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, have zero chance to be elected president. If you check any of these candidates’ boxes, you might as well leave your presidential ballot blank. This year’s presidential election is a choice between two very different futures for America. Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the next president. If you’re voting in a swing state, choosing a third party candidate means wasting your chance to help defeat Trump, whose return to office will set progressive policy in every sphere back decades. 

The presidential election is not the only race on the ballot. UChicago students will have the opportunity to influence the results of elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state and local governments, judicial offices, and their local school boards. The 2024 election also features crucial referendums in states like Florida, Arizona, and Montana that could enshrine reproductive rights into the state constitutions. If you choose to vote at your Chicago address, you will weigh in on the selection of a brand-new Chicago school board, several ballot referenda, and a host of other issues that are often lost in the news of the presidential race. 

Where should you vote? Many students have residential addresses in the United States outside of the state of Illinois. If you are one of these students, we urge you to use online resources to view your sample ballot to determine which races are most important to you and where your vote will have the most impact. For the presidential race, there are a consensus seven states where the outcome is uncertain and your vote could have significant weight. However, do not count out critical down-ballot races if you do not reside in one of these seven states. November 5 is an opportunity to make your voice heard, so wherever you chose to, just vote!

As Chicago native Michelle Obama proclaimed during the DNC, “we cannot afford for anyone in America to sit on their hands and wait to be called.”

If you are excited by the change on the ticket, and want to help mobilize people in swing states and around the country, reach out to us @uchicagodems. We will be calling voters, knocking on doors in Michigan, and continuing to promote the policies that will accompany a Harris-Walz administration every day leading up to November 5. Join us in our mission, because when we fight, we win!

University of Chicago Democrats