The midterm election day is here, marking some of the most important elections ever. Many Democrats, including myself, have been eagerly awaiting these elections for two years now as a chance to right the wrong of Trump’s presidency. The results of these elections will likely determine the public’s general opinion of major issues including health care and protection for those with preexisting conditions, immigration, environmental protection, gun control and approval of president Trump. I believe are critical issues that must be addressed.

For the last two years much of the Republican party has been attempting to take away affordable health care, overcontrol immigration, has made little effort in protecting the environment and no progress has been made in protecting people from automatic weapons. Voting in this election will give the Republicans a wake-up call as to what the American people really want from their government.

The midterms often serve as a referendum on the presidency, this has never been as true as in this election. Whether or not people approve of the president will likely determine how they vote. A Wall Street Journal poll from Nov. 4 puts Trump’s approval rating at 46 percent. A more general collection of polls put it as low as 41.9%. In elections before this an approval rating this low was followed by a landslide victory from the opposing party.

However, in today’s polarized political landscape this may not be true. The same Wall Street Journal poll shows that voting as a signal of opposition to the current politics is higher right now than it was for George Bush or Barack Obama. This shows what the American people really think about the current president and if the Democrats win the house and maybe even the senate it will tell Republicans to stop bending over backwards to cater to Trump’s needs.

The results of the midterms will determine popular opinion on many contentious issues. The population is divided on many issues but never more than on immigration, health care, gun control and the environment. Most Republican platforms but not all are anti-immigration and anti-Affordable Care Act ie. Obamacare. This means that if the main population supports Obama care and higher immigration rates the Republicans will lose ground. This looks to be the case as the chance Democrats will take the majority of the house is 5 in 6 according to FiveThirtyEight.com, a general collection of multiple polls. The chance to take the senate for the democrats is 1 in 7, much lower but still a chance. If voting turns out overwhelmingly blue today it will show Republicans that they need to come more towards the center on these key issues.

The elections this year are extremely close, which will motivate more people to come out and vote because they believe that their vote counts. These races are only close because of the larger amount of Democrats voting and swing voters voting increasingly for democratic candidates. This proves that people care more about politics since 2016 and understand that elections have consequences. Even the Kansas gubernatorial race is close, Kobach, the Republican candidate, is leading by 2.4percent as of Sunday, which is impressive in such a traditionally red state. If Democrats are able to swing traditionally red states and districts it will send a clear message: Americans are not happy with the current politics.

Already, 33 million people have come out to vote through early voting. This is a record high for midterm voting, close to presidential levels. This shows that many other people believe like I do that these midterms are critical to the nation. In 2016 America received a wake-up call from the Trump election and hopefully, we have learned our lesson. The midterms this year will have a profound effect on the American politics of the future. That’s why it’s critical to vote in these elections if you’re old enough and to encourage others to go out and vote if you’re not.