As soon as the Constitution was put into law, this nation has overseen elections every four years to decide if the current administration should pack up and go or to stay for another term. This process is as American as apple pie. What I’m saying is that there is nothing foreign about this process, but this election doesn’t feel familiar.

The 2020 election might be the most groundbreaking governmental reorganization our generation may witness or be a part of. With protests, an economic crisis, and a pandemic happening all at once, the results of November 3 will be judged by history thoroughly. 

The nation is deciding, as is the way of our democracy, but one state specifically is on a pedestal this election. That state is our home, Pennsylvania, the Keystone State.

538, a polling organization, reports that Pennsylvania has a 31% chance, higher than any other state, of being a tipping-point state, also known as a pushover state. This means that Pennsylvania will either give Trump or Biden the decisive lead in the electoral college vote. That being 270 points in the electoral college.

This makes it one of the- if not, the most- important states in the entire election. It is not clear which candidate PA will go to on Tuesday though. Throughout history,our state has been typically left leaning, In recent history, and as shown evident by 2016, Pennsylvania is etching further right. And the campaigning in this state is proof of its volatility.

Trump and his allies frequent visits to Pennsylvania have played strongly into the GOP’s favor, but Biden, being a Pennsylvania native, causes more competition than what was witnessed in 2016. Trump and Biden aren’t the only ones making special appearances in PA though. Former President Barack Obama on October 25 made his first in-person campaign appearance in Philadelphia to help make the case for a Biden presidency.

Growing democratic and republican coalitions battle for PA’s electoral votes, and then tension can be seen all the way from Philadelphia to our small town of Latrobe. This Keystone Swing State we reside is in stark disagreement over which candidate should be leading the nation for the next 4 years.

As the election draws closer, the national spotlight on Pennsylvania grows brighter, and the polls become more frequent. As viewed on 538’s website it seems Biden will win Pennsylvania, but the numbers are close, and Trump may give us a surprise like he did four years ago.

Because of this fact, republicans tend to be skeptical of the supposed Biden lead, and many democrats promote an attitude that ignores the polls, so that democratic voters stay rallied and don’t become complacent.

The results of the general election may take weeks to be fully computed due to the combination of mail in ballots, absentee ballots, and original voting. Due to this there is little we can do to wait, but it is safe to say when PA’s votes are all counted, the election as we know it may be over then and there.