Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders visited Santa Ana, California for a rally that saw about 1,500 people in attendance

Supporters were greeted by high fives and synchronized cheers as they entered Santa Ana Valley High School for the Get Out the Early Vote rally for Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Feb. 21.

Approximately 1500 people gathered to showcase their support for Sanders and his stance on prominent issues, like the legalization of marijuana, the funding of Planned Parenthood, reducing gun violence and immigration reform.

Sanders won the Nevada caucuses Feb. 22 with 46 percent of votes and receiving 10 delegates, according to The Associated Press. Joe Biden followed Sanders, receiving 19.6 percent of votes.

Before the rally, The Panther was given access to a talk where Sanders opened with the statement, “I believe in democracy,” to express the imminent need to make the political process easier.

“I believe that in the United States of America we should have the highest voter turnout than any nation or country on earth,” Sanders told reporters. “I believe that we should make it easier for people to participate in the political process, not harder.”

Currently, almost five and a half million Californians are registered as No Party Preference (NPP) voters, making it the second largest voting bloc in California following the Democratic party, said Sanders. However, many are unaware that they need to request a Democratic Party crossover ballot in order to participate in the democratic primary and only 10 percent have requested to do so, according to Sanders.

“We risk locking out millions of young people, millions of young people of color, and many, many other people who wanted to participate in the Democratic primary but may find it impossible for them to do so,” Sanders said. “And that seems to be very, very wrong.”

The rally allowed voters to pick up a democratic voter ballot stemming from a new California law that allows voters to register to vote on election day at the county elections office, neighborhood polling place or community vote center. Beginning in 2020, Orange will become one of 15 counties to utilize community polling centers under the Voter’s Choice Act passed in 2016.

The importance of immigration reform in Sanders’ political campaign was also at the forefront of the rally as he shared the story of his father’s immigration from Poland. On his first day in office, Sanders promised to sign an executive order that will bring changes to border policy and restore the legal status of millions. “I say this as the son of an immigrant, a man who came from Poland at the age of 17 without a nickel in his pocket, couldn’t speak a word of English and had very limited education,” Sanders said. “No federal agent will ever be grabbing babies from the arms of their mother. We will not be locking children up in cages. We will end the ICE raids that are terrorizing communities.”

Throughout his speech, Sanders also made multiple promises to the American people regarding expanding the funding of Planned Parenthood and gun reform. He explicitly stated to never nominate anyone to the Supreme Court or federal bench that is not completely supportive of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that forbids excessive government restriction on abortion. He also discussed the importance of reducing gun violence, regardless of an individual’s political affiliation.

“All of us, no matter our political views, are horrified and disgusted by the amount of gun violence we see in this country,” Sanders said. “Our gun policies will be written by the American people, not the National Rifle Association. That means universal background checks, ending the gun show loophole, and doing what the American people want, ending the sale and distribution of assault weapons.”

Westley Hall, a freshman political science major, who skipped his morning international relations class to attend the rally, was eager to listen to Sanders live speech. Finding out about Sanders’ appearance the day before the event, Hall gathered with a group of friends to go show their support.

As a member of Chapman Democrats, Hall is familiar with many of Sanders’ policies, but mostly admires Sander’s consistent political views and small donor campaign funding.

“I trust him the most because he doesn’t take donations from huge billionaires like all the other candidates do and has been in politics for a number years,” Hall said. “He has been a socialist Democrat for as long as he has been in politics and has never switched.”

Believing Sanders will be the final Democratic candidate, Hall encourages everyone to vote as the only way to defeat President Donald Trump.

“(Sanders) is for the people, like everybody,” Hall told The Panther. “Even if you are a Republican or don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, he will fight for you. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

At 10 p.m. the night before the rally, Molly Steavpack, a freshman English major, found out about the event and decided to attend. Her favorite part of the rally was Sanders’ campaign platform, “Not me. Us.”

“I liked how the rally really didn’t feel like it was about him,” said Steavpack, a member of Chapman For Bernie. “He stressed that it was about the people and there was a guy nearby me and started chanting ‘Bernie.’ But (Bernie) stopped it and was like ‘I appreciate that but it’s not about me, it’s about us.’” Sanders will be speaking to voters in Richmond, Virginia. Feb. 27 and Leesburg, Virginia. Feb. 29 leading up to the March 3 primary.