:NEW ORLEANS (September 25, 2020) – Will we change the trajectory of this country on Election Day Nov. 3, a mere five weeks away? That depends on whether we go out en masse and vote.

Incumbent Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden offer opposing paradigms of what America should and could be as they campaign. Biden calls the campaign “a race for the soul of America” while Trump praises his supporters’ “good genes” at a rally (do you understand a eugenics dog-whistle when you hear it?) and refuses to say whether he would leave the White House peacefully if the vote doesn’t go his way.

The latest CNN’s Poll of Polls this week showed Biden leading by a seven-point margin at 54 percent, compared with Trump’s 44 percent. We’ve seen many people who formerly were in his administration come out against him along some top former military leaders – dozens of prominent Republicans. But that won’t be enough unless all of us – especially young people – get to the polls. We must not let voter apathy take away our chance for change.

Trump has bungled the coronavirus fight, terrified us with wishy-washy national security posturing and without shame encouraged divisiveness and discord in the country. Yet his core supporters hold out hope that he will keep the hordes – us minorities – at bay. He has bamboozled poor whites who need Obama-care just as much as anyone and middle-class whites who missed out – like most of us – on the major profits billionaires made during the pandemic. We’ve lost millions of jobs, and now, the IRS has projected millions may not have returned even by 2027. And when has the U.S. ever kissed up to Russia like Trump has?

If you haven’t registered, do so now. If you’re away from your polling place, request your mail-in ballot now. And talk up the election to everyone you know so your friends and family show up, too.

NPR reported young people broke expectations in the 2018 midterm election, at 30 percent, almost twice as high as the previous midterm. We need to do that and more for the presidential election. We don’t want a repeat of 2016, when young voters 18-29 cast 19 percent of all votes.

Here are the deadlines:

• Register in-person to vote by Oct. 5 (10 days away). If you register by mail, it should be postmarked by Oct. 5
• Register online to vote by Oct. 13 (17 days away).
• A request for a ballot by mail should be received by Oct. 30.
• Early voting dates and hours may vary based on where you live, but runs from Oct. 20-27.

Over the past four years, Trump’s administration has done everything in its power to destroy what former President Barack Obama did in eight years. Trump’s presidency has been filled with lies, tweets and hatred. Just when you think it can’t worse, he makes another jaw-dropping claim and leaves you shaking your head in disbelief.

In recent months, Trump polarized the value of black lives over obvious police misconduct in the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. He was more focused on the vandalization of Confederate statues than a senseless act in which America literally watched a man die for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

Trump said, “This election will decide whether we will defend the American way of life, or whether we allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it."

What we want to dismantle is the notion that black folk and other minorities have no right to the “American way of life.” Our blood fertilized the ground and the growth of this nation. Its riches were built on the backs of our unpaid and then under-paid labor. And we aren’t going anywhere.

When you consider the damage Trump has done in four years, America may not be able to come back from another four. He is like a roach you keep killing. Despite scandal after scandal, his core supporters rally around him.

Well, Nov. 3 is our time to rally and unify our voices. Voting is the first step towards a better tomorrow. Visit https://howto.vote/vote/en/la.html for more information.

(Editor-in-Chief Cheryl Daniel wrote this editorial on behalf of the Courtbouillon staff.)