A lot has happened this summer—particularly in politics. At the end of May, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts, marking the first time in American history a former president has been convicted of a crime. In June, the first presidential debate of 2024 was held between President Joe Biden and Trump, with Biden’s subpar performance giving rise to calls for him to drop out of the race. Soon after, in July, the United States Supreme Court ruled that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution, placing presidents above the law. A week later, Trump survived an assassination attempt at one of his rallies.

Then, in response to the debate backlash, Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. At the beginning of August, Harris secured the nomination, making history as the first Black and South Asian American woman to do so. As I write this, the Democratic National Convention is happening, where Harris will officially become the new nominee. Amid the chaos, Harris and Trump chose their respective vice-presidential nominees, Tim Walz and J. D. Vance. And soon, the presidential nominees will go head-to-head in September during the second presidential debate, with the vice-presidential nominees debating in October.

Considering the summer mayhem and with less than three months until election day, Harris still might be an enigma to many. So, who is she?

Before Harris was on the national stage, she worked as a top prosecutor in California. She started her career as a deputy district attorney of Oakland in 1990 and worked her way up to becoming the district attorney of San Francisco in 2004, the first person of color in the position. As the district attorney, she championed providing a path for first-time drug offenders to receive education and job training, reducing recidivism and combatted truancy for elementary-school youth– lessening the number of habitual truants. In 2010, she was elected attorney general of California, becoming the first Black and South Asian American woman to hold the office. Her accomplishments as the attorney general include ensuring homeowner protections, taking on predatory for-profit colleges, prioritizing environmental protection and continuing her criminal justice reforms and anti-truancy efforts, along with supporting LGBTQIA+ rights.

Six years later, Harris became the first South Asian American and second Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator where she gained a reputation for asking direct and pointed questions, such as during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She also was the first senator to cosponsor Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Act of 2017, was a major sponsor of police reform bills, supported the Green New Deal and was a proponent of a path to citizenship for Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals recipients. After an ill-fated run in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, she was chosen as Biden’s running mate in his bid for the White House. Then, in 2021, she became the first Black and South Asian American woman vice president in U.S. history. During her term in office, she has been a vocal advocate for abortion rights and women’s rights, taking a leading role in gun violence prevention and pushing for voting rights protections to be codified.

Now, as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris is continuing her progressive record and recently released a part of her policy agenda. She plans to lower costs for everyday Americans, restore the constitutional right to abortion and support unions. Her economic agenda specifically focuses on banning price gouging, eliminating medical debt, capping prescription drug costs, providing subsidies to first-time home buyers and expanding child tax credit. And while we do not have all her policies just yet, it is clear that she will continue to fight climate change and gun violence, reform the justice system and preserve our rights. She will not impinge on our freedoms and threaten democracy, unlike the convicted felon, Trump.

Her running mate, Walz, carries a similar progressive background. The current Minnesota governor, Walz is a veteran, former schoolteacher and former House of Representatives member. As governor, he has championed police reform, protected access to reproductive healthcare, backed LGBTQIA+ rights and gun violence prevention and ensured environmental protections.

With their backgrounds and experiences, voting for the Harris-Walz ticket is a no-brainer. Their campaign represents hope for our democracy. Harris could make history. So, with Nov. 5 quickly approaching, it is time to register to vote and double-check your registration. Whether in Ohio or your home state, your vote matters—and even more so in swing states and former swing states like Ohio. Register before Oct. 7 in Ohio or by your state deadline and request an absentee ballot by then if you want to vote by mail. It only takes a few minutes at vote.gov.

We cannot let the events of 2016 repeat themselves. Let’s vote for our freedom and our future.