We’re almost at the end of the line. The 2024 election is soon to be behind us as the hours tick away and votes are counted on Election Day. 

While a winner likely won’t be decided until the coming days, Nov. 5 will mark the beginning of the end for the 2024 election cycle, which has provided an abundance of headlines and unforgettable moments. In many ways, the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has been unprecedented. 

“This is an extremely unique election given that presumed democratic nominee Joe Biden dropped out as the incumbent several months before the election, and it’s been interesting watching that develop,” Michael Ensley, a political science professor, said. “The fact you have an incumbent president who was out of office for years running again also makes this unique.” 

The presidential race has been close for months now, and no candidate seems to have a particular advantage heading into Election Day. Ensley said this has caused political discourse and messaging to be “very negative.”  

“Harris didn’t start out that way from her campaign, as it was positive messaging moving forward with all the memes about joy,” Ensley said. “She has now fallen back to attacking Trump. The Republican campaign’s rhetoric has also been very negative, obviously focused on a different message about immigration and transgender issues.”  

This messaging has trickled down to voters as well. Cherie Strachan is the director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, a bipartisan institution that supports Republican and Democratic students. She said polarization has gotten so intense in American politics that we are living in an age of “negative partisanship.” 

“People hate the other side more than they like their own, and it’s enough to drive them back into their own camps,” Strachan said. “That leads to less critical thinking about their own candidates, and we aren’t as alienated by weak candidates or candidate flaws anymore.” 

Each candidate has also claimed and framed a view on an issue that highly matters to voters this election. For Republicans, that issue has been the cost of living and the economy, while the Democrats issue has been abortion and women’s rights. Strachan noted how both parties have messaged their issue successfully, and how abortion already has a recent history of persuading voters for Democrats. 

“The more [Republicans] talk about inflation, higher cost of living and higher cost of basic goods at stores, the more they can frame the Biden and Harris administration as failing to keep those costs under control,” Strachan said. “Democrats have seen [voters thoughts] and realize it’s something where they can peel people off. Reproductive rights and access to abortion is huge in this cycle.” 

In terms of what to expect on Election Day, both Ensley and Strachan said voter turnout will be very high, and swing states like Pennsylvania will be extremely competitive. They are also both concerned of potential distrust in electoral institutions no matter who wins the election. 

“I would just caution people that premature claims that a candidate has won or someone is stealing the election is going to happen,” Strachan said. “There’ll be legal challenges, there’ll be court cases, there’ll be nasty name calling and I would encourage people to understand it takes a long time to count the ballots. We need to be patient and let the poll workers do their jobs.” 

John Engoglia is a beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].