Voice of the Students: Midterm Election

VOICE OF THE STUDENT: What do you think about the results of the midterm election?

Edited by the Editorial Board

Photo by Richard Walter, Senior Public Relations Major

From his upcoming book, “Before We Get There”

Grace Edwards, second year, Political Science

When the election results came in Tuesday night, I was happy to hear about future Congresswoman Emilia Sykes’ success in her race for Ohio’s 13th District. Summit County races went well, with Democrats securing all three County Council positions up for grabs as well as wins for Judges Breaux, Towell, and Hightower. Losses on state-wide tickets, however, for 3 Ohio Supreme Court positions, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and US Senator, brought down the party. In a time where abortion access is such a state-by-state issue, Ohioans did not elect Democrats who would protect women’s rights, which are very important to me. A highlight in the national news, however, was the Democratic Party’s successes against the so-called “red wave.” Generally, during a midterm election, power in the US Senate and House will shift to the party not in charge of the executive. It was expected that Democrats would lose record-breaking seats in the legislature, but that did not happen. Many analysts are attributing that to an increase in voter turnout among Gen Z voters. Overall, I’m pleased for the party, but I’m still very worried about the state of women’s rights. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer, abortion access has come to the forefront of women’s rights issues, especially at the state level. The repercussions of Ohio’s legislative actions against abortion access may pave the way for the stripping of even more rights, which will be detrimental to all citizens living in Ohio.

Samuel Kosco, Junior, Applied Mathematics “I’m generally happy with the way local elections turned out, especially issue 10 which issued a police oversight board. I live in Highland Square and I have personally seen significant over-policing and needless displays of authority since this past summer. After the Police murdered Jayland Walker, it became obvious that Akron is not immune to the issues of police brutality in America. I am disappointed in the state-wide election results. I feel like Ohio has gone from being a swing-state when I was growing up, to a solidly republican state. I do not feel represented by any of the state wide politicians elected this cycle.”

Hanah Ramsey, Senior, Criminal Justice/Criminology

“In my perspective, I believe the midterm election is an upsetting situation for our generation. The majority of our choices are being stripped from us such as women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the basic right to choose. The vast majority of candidates who have won the midterm elections are seeking to restrict the access to privacy. These candidates are wishing to change the world to an environment where people will be unable to make their own choices without governmental involvement. Unfortunately, with the candidates that have won the mid term election our generation will become compromised for years to come. Our generation needs to become more informed and involved with issues that hold importance to them.”

Julian Glenny, Senior, Double Major, Accounting & Philosophy

“My general opinion is that voting is important, but I think what is even more important is informed voting. With this in mind, I believe that only those students and individuals who have a solid understanding of not just politics, but of ethics, logic, and empathy as well, should be the primary individuals voting. Often times in today’s modern world we view the political parties as very divided- one side calling the other a villain, the other the same. Unfortunately, this does exactly what you would expect- divides people. I find that often times through this, it leads individuals to the belief that the opposite party is foolish, and without merit. This is often a poor view of the world, as realistically there is at least some merit to both sides of a conversation, and that disagreement most of the time boils down to miscommunication. While I think that voting is important generally, I think it is more important that for future generations- we ensure empathy and understanding above all, even of people that at first we may disagree with or even hate based off their views. On this basis I am not an active voter, nor plan to in the future, as I feel I have insufficient understanding and perspective into politics, as well as all of the prior mentioned qualities, to make a vote which accurately represents my own beliefs. Concerning the recent midterm elections, I did not intentionally pursue information regarding them, and what little insight I gained passively seemed to represent exactly what I already mentioned- that one side depicts the other as a villain as a means to get support from people who would agree. This is representative of the reason why I don’t vote, as the division of perspectives goes against what I believe is the most important element to genuine progress- empathy and understanding.”

Hayden Dickerson, Senior, Marine Science

“I’m a bit disillusioned. I plan to vote for Democrat representatives, but I haven’t put a lot of effort into research. I think that voting for them isn’t necessarily progressive, but rather less regressive. Roe v Wade being overturned was pretty discouraging and I had essentially no say as a citizen of the United States considering how our judicial branch works. Enormous decisions like that being made on our behalf upsets me and makes me less confident that my vote actually matters. Despite that, I think abstaining from voting goes against what I want America to be for myself and the next generation.”

Emma Carson, Sophomore, Anthropology

“Why do all my choices suck? While I understand issue 10, I was a little thrown off by issue 8 that allows non-citizens to vote and feel we should have spoken on this more as a community. On one side citizenship takes a long time if you aren’t rich and you should have some say in your community, but at the same time this feels dangerous, like only 30 days and you can affect the whole climate of a county.”

Kora Dutton, Fourth Year, Social Work

“I think it is very important for students to vote and to know how to vote. So many of us are away from our hometowns, and it might be difficult to have time or resources to vote in the county you’re registered in. Knowing how to vote absentee can be so vital for students in this situation, as well as knowing the deadlines to vote this way or to register for voting. For the recent election, it may be easy for us to just pass it off as simply being a midterm election, but these elections are just as important as any presidential election. These people have a say in our futures- so try to invest some time in voting if you can. Also, please keep vulnerable populations in mind while you vote in the future. Voting decisions can make a huge impact on someone’s life, whether it’s negative or positive.”