Students look forward to voting

Next Tuesday, 18-year-old high school seniors have the chance to vote for the first time.

In the midterm elections, 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs, while all of the 435 seats in the lower House of Representatives are being contested.

In recent weeks, flyers were handed out to seniors in Government/Economics classes with a link to a website that allows students to register to vote. History teachers tied in the upcoming elections with discussions in their classes, emphasizing the importance of voting.

The outreach commission has also been distributing flyers that encourage 18-year-olds to vote.

TIME magazine recently reported that more people, especially younger generations, are finally starting to realize how important voting can be, and that a record of 800,000 people registered to vote on National Voter Registration Day back in September. In addition, more celebrities and public figures, such as Taylor Swift and Rihanna, have used their social media platforms to urge their followers to register.

Principal Paul Robinson called voting an essential part of citizenship.

“I think that any time you can exercise your right to choose and your right to be a part of the process about who’s going to lead you, whether it’s in your class leadership or your local leadership or your national leadership, you need to take that opportunity,” Robinson said. “If you choose not to because it’s inconvenient or you just don’t care, then that’s actually casting a vote too.”

Recent debates over young Americans who chose not to vote in the 2016 election sparked a controversial political advertisement by the company Acronym titled “Don’t Vote: a Knock the Vote PSA.”

The advertisement had the elderly sarcastically addressing a younger generation and telling them to not vote.

For senior Sasha Pickard, the advertisement was a wake-up call.

“Younger people need to start voting because it affects them and even decisions right now can affect them far into the future,” said Pickard. “Younger generations need to vote in order to get policy changes that fit our ideals and wants.”

Pickard is eligible to vote this year, and she says an influx of information, including from her parents who support different political parties, has underscored the importance of educating herself on candidates before she votes.

Senior Siena Parsons is another student who plans on voting in the upcoming midterm elections. She said she pre-registered online to vote.

For Parsons, animal cruelty and ending Daylight Savings Time are California ballots measures that she cares about and wants to have a voice in.

“I think it’s really important to vote because every voice matters, and every individual should be represented in the government,” Parsons said. “Every vote counts and it’s important to be involved in what’s going on and to make sure our rights are being protected.”

Students who aren’t yet 18 have the option of pre-registering to vote as early as age 16.

Junior Ranna Zahabi found out that she was eligible to pre-register to vote after the news of the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. Zahabi won’t be eligible to vote until the next election, but being pre-registered inspired her to learn more about local and global issues. For example, through the app Global Citizen, Zahabi has been able to learn more about representatives at not only the national level, but the state level as well.

According to Robinson, the school learned about the process of pre-registering during the gun violence walkout last year and had voter registration guides and websites available to students then.

“You want to be part of of the change and let your voices be heard through how you vote,” Robinson said. “We’re beginning to see greater changes as younger generations become even more empowered and more involved in the politics of today and changing the politics of today and making it the politics of the future.”