We’ve all learned the hard way about protest votes and Trump – don’t do it

People of my generation may have abstained or chosen to opt for a third party, writes North Carolinian Lauren Bulla – but will now have to deal with the fall-out of a Trump presidency for the next four years

As election day in North Carolina came to its final moments, voters sat close to their television screens and phones alike waiting to see which way the swing states would turn this election cycle. I was one of them.

For me – plus many of my friends and family – this result has brought with it a whole new level of fear and dismay. We were the first swing state to go; the first to watch Donald Trump turn us red all over again. Despite our democratic governor, attorney general Josh Stein, taking the seat – Republicans claimed the state. The margin was razor-thin, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. The question we’re all left asking now is: why?

I have some idea of the answers. We’ve had unimaginable heartache in the region this year. The aftermath of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene still lingers. At the same time, due to the lack of aid presented by federal programs like Fema, voters were not only in some cases discouraged – but also unable, physically, to get to polling boxes. Just weeks ago, in Asheville – my college city – entire neighbourhoods, businesses, buildings and highway systems were completely erased by floods; and hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity, food or access to running water.

Inability to vote is one thing – but what about abstaining? I remember discourse around “protest votes” being just as loud during the 2016 election between Hillary Clinton and Trump. And I’ve had my own conversations this time around with people of my generation – Gen Z/millennials – who abstained or chose to opt for a third party, yet will now have to deal with the fall-out of a Trump presidency for the next four years.

Look, I understand wanting to abstain… the system is incredibly flawed. Some could argue it is beyond repair.

When Bernie Sanders was on the ballot in the primaries in 2016, I was all for it – I found myself among many other young Americans who saw the hope of a different reality with his name on the ballot. But when Hillary Clinton became the Democrats’ choice, a load of young voters left the polls for good and abstained or voted third party in the final count. I was one of them – and watched Trump take the state. Amid my guilt and dismay at the time, my argument was always that it didn’t matter – because my county, Buncombe, went blue anyway.

I’ve seen a lot of rhetoric around the fact that those abstaining or voting third party are already in a “blue state” so it doesn’t matter… but, as today proves, it’s just not true. With the benefit of hindsight and lived experience, I would argue that what we are facing in the present day – four more years of disharmony, discord and disinformation – proves, once and for all, how crucial it is to use our constitutional rights. It’s clear that what many thought had been codified into federal law is in fact completely up for debate.

Kamala Harris seemed to garner a huge proportion of the youth vote with her “Brat” campaign: dealing in witty ads, fast-paced meme culture and TikTok short-form content. But it wasn’t enough. Her move toward a more moderate stance on issues such as the aggression being waged by Israel against Palestine and her history as a prosecutor kept people – particularly young people – out of the poll boxes. This particular “protest vote” backfired.

The irony here is that someone like Harris – though many disagree with sections of her foreign policy or her background – was held unfairly under a microscope by those who may have otherwise voted in her direction; while Trump supporters accepted any – and everything – he said, regardless of how heinous and dangerous (even criminal) it was.

People are afraid. That is their baseline. And that fear has been weaponised. As an international voter now living in the UK, I also wonder how many of those living abroad chose not to vote – and how many felt pressured by the impact of the savagery of online discourse and Elon Musk-driven misinformation. It’s still a wonder to me that someone with the power to incite what happened on 6 January could get this close to the White House again.

The impact of this election will be severe and long lasting. It makes me worry for women, for my country – and for the future. It’s absolutely unreal to witness in real time how much Harris was held to entirely unreasonable standards, while Trump continues to say – and do – whatever he likes.

Still, we have to remain optimistic. It would be easy to sit here and wallow in the fear and the regret; to point fingers and let the nerve-wracking nature of the result overpower our better judgement. That cannot be the case. Now is a time more than ever to engage with our community, to take part in efforts to maintain and restore freedoms, to seek to understand differences and to hold our leaders to account.

We all deserve hope, to feel safe at home, to be ourselves, for climate change to be acknowledged rather than undermined – and to know our government upholds what it means to be an American first and foremost: free.