By Olivia Schleede
For many of us students, November 5th was a significant day as it marked the first time in which we were able to participate in a presidential election. While some opted to vote in person—where they would stand in line, amongst other voters and mark their ballot—others, like myself, chose to send in their ballot through mail, being a great distance away from home.
The diverse perspectives and opinions of young voters play a crucial role in shaping the future of our nation. To better understand student voting experiences, I spoke with four students from various backgrounds in order to learn about their excitement towards first-time voting, their concerns about candidates and the issues that matter most to them.
Regarding her excitement, B Osborne ‘27, an intended Psychology major, told me, “I’m not necessarily excited, even though it’s my first one [election].” Her reasoning being, “because we shouldn’t have to pick between two evils.”
Ryan Sanborn ‘27, a prospective Political Science major, expressed a similar sentiment, “I do have reservations. I feel like for the longest time we’ve been choosing between the lesser of two evils,” he said. “I think that we just deserve more than that as a people, especially when you look at overseas, [at] the European systems, where they have tons of viable party options and candidates to vote for. It’s just a shame we don’t have something like that here.” Regarding his excitement about voting, he told me, “I’m excited to do my civic duty, but I think that the social, almost, stigma… the polarization makes it a little less attractive because it feels like you’re alienating someone no matter who you vote for. So, the social aspect, no, but I am excited to do my civic duty.”
When asked about what issues are important to them, the two gave me fairly similar responses. Osborne listed several issues, including abortion, economics (particularly that costs feel too high), education system reform (specifically through loan reduction and the upping of the teaching salary) and immigration. For Sanborn, there were two predominant issues that came to mind. He told me, “I’d say the biggest are reproductive rights [and the] preservation of democracy. [There is] not so much of a single issue for me personally, but overall, if I have to pick two, I think those are the two that I’d select.”
For Leslie Santos ‘25, a double major in Biology and Psychology, there are feelings of excitement towards voting. “I’m very excited to be voting in this election,” she said, following up with, “Especially since I was not able to vote for the last major presidential election.” When asked if she is satisfied with her options, Santos admitted, “I do have my reservations with both of the candidate options,” but she acknowledges that, “No one person will entirely match my own views or even the views of the majority of people in their party, so I’m doing my best to vote for people and policies that will be best for the overall good of most people and people in need.”
As for the issues that were most important to her in this election, she listed, “Education (in terms of resources, funding, and so on), reproductive rights, prisoner rights, inflation, and accessibility to/quality of healthcare.”
Another student, who chose to remain anonymous, expressed dissatisfaction with both candidates, telling me, “The reason is that I feel both candidates are not that good.” However, they remained firm in their decision to vote for one of them, admitting, “I am fully set on one of them because it’s been—to me it’s been—proven that they can be trustworthy.” This student understands, however, why some students may be swayed to the other side of the aisle, noting that, “It’s… just depending on what [issues] people are voting for, depending on… what they want to see change.”
They added, “I feel like some people—not everyone, but some people—don’t even look into the politics… Some people are not seeing the politics on both sides.” For this student, issues of primary concern were crime, violence and immigration, noting to me that they are the child of first-generation immigrants themselves and feel as though the current system is flawed.
For this student, another issue that they felt has not been addressed by either side is one they appeared very passionate and concerned about, expressing that, “Another issue I have with the United States is sex trafficking. I really feel like none of the sides really talk about it and it’s just something that people don’t talk about, but they should. They should be telling people that this is happening. You might not see it, but it’s happening. It could happen to you or your child. It could be happening in your community right now, but you’d probably never know because people don’t talk about it, and I feel like it’s an issue that should really be spoken about because those people are literally taking away a child’s innocence.”
This student’s point is real. Human trafficking has been reported as occurring in each of the 50 U.S. states. In 2021 alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline (funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) reported that they had received 10,359 reports of human trafficking, with a total of 16,554 victims spanning across these cases. This issue is real, but is largely absent from political discourse.
From my discussions with these students, one common theme seemed to arise: while it was exciting in principle to be voting for the first time, the options we were given in terms of candidates were disappointing. Often described as “picking between two evils,” students wished for “better” candidates and greater variability. From my observation, this was the common opinion of students from both liberal and conservative political leanings.
Despite the frustrations and concerns voiced by these first-time voters, it remains true that voter participation is crucial. While the options for candidates might not have been ideal, change can only occur if people make their voices heard by casting their vote.
If you did not vote in this election, there is still time to register for the next one online—whether by mail, online or in person at your local election office.
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