LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — With one month left until election day, Americans are already voting on mail-order ballots as the campaign trail picks up pace for its Nov. 5 grand finale. So far, 90 million Americans have voted early, according to AP News.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has been making multiple appearances on different media platforms such as “The View,” “The Howard Stern Show” and “The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert.” “Call Her Daddy,” hosted by Alex Copper, was the second-highest rated Spotify podcast in 2023. Harris was recently featured as she sat down with Copper and gave an interview on topics surrounding the upcoming election. Copper and Harris discussed domestic violence, abortions, Harris’ children and her childhood with a strong focus on the influence Harris’s mother had on her.

Harris’ “Call Her Daddy” episode resulted in backlash from listeners, as the audience saw the interview as a strong shift from her typical content of celebrity interviews and personal content.

“Each show reaches a specific, unique audience that Democrats need (& arguably haven’t really engaged with in the past),” said Victor Shi, a member of the Harris-Walz Youth Team, on X.

Nominees are also trying to win the Electoral College, which is why you may hear terms like swing state or battleground states are frequently used during election years. The electoral college counts all votes into a statewide tally and instead of counting individual votes. Whichever party has the most votes in an area will be counted, and nominees need 270 college votes to win the election.

“They help shape the current election because those presidential candidates look at swing states (and) change plans and platforms to keep voters voting for them,” said Los Alamitos High School government and economics teacher, Ms. Reigert.

Most Americans feel that their vote is predetermined because their vote is not counted as a number towards another party but based on the vote cast by the voters’ state population. Candidates can win the popular vote but lose to the electoral college. This has happened five times in previous elections, the most recent being in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic Party nominee losing to Donald Trump, the 2016 election Republican nominee.  

States like California typically vote Democratic in the Electoral College, according to 270 to Win. However, swing states or battleground states are the exceptions to the predetermined Electoral College. States like Florida or Pennsylvania are not entirely Democratic or Republican, making it key for candidates to focus on winning those states.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is predicted to win the 2024 election, leading polls ahead of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, according to a poll by the New York Times.

Democrats are worried that Trump will claim to have won the 2024 election prematurely on election night, even if the final vote count is not official. With the time it takes to count votes results of who may win, the election will most likely be unclear for several days following Nov. 5, similar to the events of the 2020 election.

Some seniors will be able to vote if they turn 18 before Nov. 5. For students, this will be their first experience with voting. Those eligible to vote can register on Vote.org. From there, you can vote by mail and see what’s on your ballot based on where you live.

“It’s weird to think that some of my classmates can vote already,” said an anonymous LAHS student.

“The number one reason I hear (students) don’t want to engage or don’t want to vote is because (students) don’t feel informed enough,” Ms. Reiger said.

This shows the responsibility of students, as they are aware of multiple issues and want to be well-informed before solidifying their opinions by voting.