Amid the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, America faced a nationwide shortage of poll workers for the presidential election due to the fact that most poll workers are traditionally over the age of 61, and these volunteers weren’t able to be present, which ultimately led to fewer polling stations.
A polling station lists its hours of operation on its doors, signaling the beginning of another voting season for American citizens. As Nov. 8 draws closer, citizens of age should begin planning a visit to a polling station, to vote and to possibly volunteer. Photo courtesy of Elliott Stallion
“Someone who only knows one country, knows no country.” Those were the wise words of the New Yorker, Seymour Martin Lipset, not in the context of international travel but in politics. Numerous Americans are still confident the world revolves around the USA and only around the USA. However, for those who find at least a bit of truth in Lipset’s statement, they will recognize democracy elsewhere in world, specifically in Germany.
A flag waves in front of the “Bundestag” in Berlin, Germany. The building’s construction took almost a decade before being completed in 1894, and, after extensive reconstruction in the 1990s, it currently houses Germany’s parliament. Photo by Pxfuel
As Election Day 2020 begins moving from standing in lines and voting to watching phones and TV screens for indications of who might be America’s president, college students could possibly make all the difference in America for the next four years. Our MBU Timeline student journalists took photos today and penned their observations on this historic day.
The sun is barely peaking over the roof at Parkway South High School as voters line up first thing in the morning to cast their ballots in today’s election. At around 7 a.m., when MBU Timeline staffer Jack Gienke took this photo, there were a few hundred voters already in line. Voter turnout could reach a record high today. Photo by Jack Gienke
One of the founding tenets of our country is the right of the citizens to have a role in their government, and they do this by voting. Today, too many people are giving up the right to have their voices heard, especially in local and municipal politics. Low voter turnouts and disengaged demographics have led to important elections being decided by a meager percentage of eligible voters.
Twin Oaks Town Hall, located on 1381 Big Bend Road, in Twin Oaks, Missouri, is home to a typical voting station Americans find throughout the country on every election day. Understated and unassuming, but it is polling stations across America where the nation’s most important business takes place each and every election day. Photo by Jack Gienke
Here are some interesting facts about MBU Timeline, the student newsmagazine of Missouri Baptist University, in St. Louis:
*Our mission statement is: MBU Timeline is the student news network of Missouri Baptist University, a private Christian university that embraces the essential core value of “social change through service and leadership.”
*The Bible verse that drives our mission is 2 Timothy 2:15 (Worldwide English Version): “Tell the true message in the right way.”
*The WordPress website has been up since late-fall 2013. We average about 3,000 sessions and about 5,000 pageviews per month.
*Our stories and galleries get as few as 40 or 50 hits, or as many as 8,000 hits.
*We have readers in every state and more than 90 countries around the world. We have several readers in South America, the United Kingdom, India and Australia.
*Most of our readers are in Missouri, followed by Illinois, California and Texas.
*We do not accept advertising as we are a not-for-profit online newsmagazine.
*We welcome contributors from all walks of MBU life, regardless of your major. Reach out to us on Twitter at: @mbutimeline.
