Seniors Share

Eager seniors share opinions about voting in first presidential election

Story by Catherine Stautz

Come election day, senior Sophie Smythe will vote for the first time ever.

“I am excited because I’m legally an adult, and it will probably be my first thing to be like, I’m really an adult now, other than turning 18,” she said.

Smythe is not alone. Ahead of a contentious election, other seniors who have turned 18 will also cast their vote for the first time. And at just 14-years-old during the last election, the seniors who are now eligible to vote weren’t as invested in 2016 as they are now.

“I’ll be honest, I did not pay attention to any of the elections, like the last election,” Smythe said. “I didn’t pay attention to any of them or what Trump has been doing through his presidency.”

As a result, Smythe is not ready to publicly share who she is voting for yet because she said she is still educating herself. “My goal right now is just to educate myself on them, so I know where I stand and who I want to vote for,” she said.

Smythe’s first step was to learn about each candidate’s policies and views.

“Trump, I disagree with some of his views on certain situations,” she said. “I dislike that he seems to be, again I am still doing all this research, but he seems like a hypocrite.”

Smythe had criticism of the opposing candidate too.

“Joe Biden at the same time is really senile, and he’s kind of a crazy old man,” she said.

Though she is currently unsure herself, Smythe does believe it is important for people to vote, and she said she thinks that people do not have the right to complain about the elected president if they did not participate in the election.

“It’s your duty to vote,” Smythe said. “You get the privilege to vote and take the country’s future into your own hands.”

Senior Sophie Terraciano-Spence is eager to be a part of the country’s future. She wasted no time in sharing her political views.

“I will be voting for Biden because I think he is better for the American people, the economy and just everyone overall,” Terraciano-Spence said.

She said she likes Biden’s policies and what he stands for, including more police reforms and environmental regulations.

“As opposed to Trump who wants to take back regulations,” she said.

Though Terraciano-Spence feels strongly about supporting Biden, she said she developed these beliefs herself, rather than relying on just voting for whoever her parents support.

“My dad is republican, and my mom is more independent, but she is pretty left-leaning,” she said. “My political views are different because I do my own research and that sort of thing.”

Terraciano-Spence said she feels her vote is not just for her but the well being of others.

“I think other people should vote for Biden because to [be] an empathetic person, you have to consider the needs of other people not just yourself,” she said. “I am voting for Biden, so that I can support minorities, and I’m voting for Biden, so that I can support small businesses.”

She also thinks this election especially speaks out to the younger generations.

“Having the younger generation vote this year is super important because that’s a lot of Biden’s targeted audience this time,” Terraciano-Spence said. “Obviously one vote is kind of minimal, but if you look at the whole school, one vote could be like 500 people, so that could actually influence the election.”

While Terraciano-Spence feels the younger vote is geared in favor of Biden, there are seniors planning to vote to reelect President Trump. There were 12 seniors interviewed for this story who said they will vote Trump. However, they all declined to have their name on record.

Junior Jack Tatum, president of the Turning Point Club, did speak out on how he believes his fellow club members will vote.

“I think the vast majority of our chapter will be voting for President Trump,” he said. “If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. Ultimately, it will all depend on what the American people will have to say on election day.”

Who would you vote for? 133 VOTES FOR TRUMP 160 VOTES FOR BIDEN 36 INDEPENDENT Of the 329 students polled, 35 can legally vote.

22.8% CORONAVIRUS

41.5% SOCIAL ISSUES

7% CLIMATE CHANGE

What issue do you care most about?

23.4% ECONOMIC ISSUES

6.5% TWITTER

8.1% INSTAGRAM

5.4% HEALTH CARE

21.9% PARENTS

21.9% READING THE NEWS

Where do you primarily get political information? 12.1% TIK-TOK

29.6% WATCHING THE NEWS

40.3%

NO 59.7% YES

Do you trust that this will be a fair election? 34.9%

NO

65.1% YES Do you have the same views as your parents?

FEATURES 25