Hey, BTN. I'm Zo.
I'm 11 years old and I live in Brooklyn, New York,
with my mom, my dad and my little brother.
Right now, all everybody's talking about is the election next month.
People are really getting excited the election's coming up.
Donald Trump!
That's a lot of people.
America deserves a president who understands.
It's very critical that people go out and vote.
I asked my friends about it.
I have been hearing about the election
from parents, school and TV
and I'm excited to hear what's going on.
I'd like to know what the future is going to look like
because at this point, like, whoever is elected to be president
is really, like, shaping
how the world is going to look for us in the future.
So, I wanted to fill you in about that.
Let's start with the presidential candidates.
You probably know about Donald Trump already.
He's the current US president.
And we will make America great again.
And you might recognise Joe Biden, too.
He was the vice president for eight years
when our last president, Barack Obama, was in office.
When I ran as a proud Democrat for vice president,
and I'm running as a proud Democrat for president.
Elections here work a little bit differently
than they do in Australia.
For starters, you don't have to vote here.
People choose to vote or not.
And the election is always held on the same day every four years -
the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
And, no, we don't have democracy sausages,
although they do look pretty tasty.
We don't only vote for the party we like.
We vote directly for the candidate we want to be our president
and the person each candidate
has chosen as their vice president.
But the winner isn't based on who gets the most votes in the country.
Instead, we have something called the Electoral College.
It's made up of 538 people known as electors.
They represent all 50 US states in Washington DC.
To be elected,
the president and vice president have to get at least 270 votes
in the Electoral College.
It's kind of complicated,
but, basically, whoever wins the most states wins the election.
US presidents can also only serve two terms of four years each.
President Trump has already served one
and, if he wins, it will be his second term as president.
Lots of people say this is a really important election
because of all the big things that are happening in America right now.
There's the coronavirus, which has had a big impact on us.
In fact, even President Trump tested positive for coronavirus this month,
which was big news.
It's been a very interesting journey.
I learned a lot about COVID.
And you might remember those big protests across America
against racism and police shootings.
PROTESTERS: (CHANT) Black lives matter!
Black lives matter!
MAX: I think the Black Lives Matter protests
will have an impact in the election
because people are starting to see that black lives matter
and that people should be treated equal.
And I also think that coronavirus will have an impact on the election
because Trump messed up
and over 200,000 people died.
I definitely don't think that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
are the best option to be president,
but at the moment, like, this is our best shot.
But not everyone feels that way.
A lot of people really like President Trump
and think he's been doing a good job
and should keep doing it for four more years.
(CHANTING)
The election will happen on November 3
and I'm going to go with my mom and dad when they go to vote.
When I'm old enough, I'm going to vote
because I want to make a difference in this country's future.
I hope that's helped you understand a little bit more
about what's happening in America right now.
Bye, BTN.