A New Era of Voters

On the newly eligible voters in the Class of 2021

Caroline Schafer

“More than 15 million. That’s the approximate number of Americans that have turned 18 and become eligible to vote since the 2016 election” according to a new Forbes article. In the Bishop’s class of 2021, there will be some of the youngest voters in the 202o election. Young voters at Bishop’s seem open to different opinions and have put the time into figuring out which candidate they prefer. However, they are faced with a disappointing selection of candidates in a time when political opinions can be controversial to discuss because of how polarized the country is currently. Some students don’t seem to strongly prefer either candidate but are choosing between the two simply because they dislike the other more. When asked about his preference of candidate, Zach Fales (‘21) said, “I don’t know at the moment; I think that both have their downsides.” And this perspective is not unique to Zach—seniors Ben Kryillos, Izzy Ratto, Dax Kay, Luken Aguerre, Kian Tayebi, and Dylan Hunt all agreed that they shared similar sentiments. Slightly opposed, Alan Zhou (‘21) said he is shocked about how embarrassing each candidate is after watching the debate, but he prefers Candidate for US President Biden “This is the way I look at it. Do I want this country to continue to go in this downward spiral? From what I can tell, these last four years have been more divided and our country has gone through a dramatic change, not for the better. Maybe Biden could come in and mend that division a bit (but as a last resort).” Luken had a stronger focus on policies, explaining that he prefers Biden. “I feel like global warming needs to be solved now, and Trump doesn’t emphasize that enough.” While Bishop’s voters are struggling to pick either candidate and are mostly undecided, “Gen Z voters (ages 18-23) are supporting the Democrat, 57 percent to 33 percent,” young voters prefer candidate Joe Biden over President Donald Trump, according to a new poll from NBC based on Wall Street Journal data. As for Trump, some young Bishop’s voters like his policies, but others simply dislike Biden. Sterling Price (‘21) said, “I like Trump, but also have things I don’t like about him. I would say that I do dislike Biden more.” Jamie Fazio (‘21) expressed, “I think that America’s economy is of utmost importance right now, especially with this whole pandemic that happened” when explaining preference for Trump. He also had health concerns about Biden. While many students did say they would vote, a similar number also expressed concern that their vote won’t matter. “I think in a blue state like California, my vote doesn’t really matter because regardless of who I choose, Biden will most likely be the winner,” explained Ben. “Personally I will be voting for Biden; I think Biden is bad but I think Trump is far worse.” Others, such as Sterling, had a similar opinion. “I know it’s important to vote, but then again it feels like my one vote won’t make a difference either way,” he said. Despite these concerns, though, he is still com-

mitted to voting all the same. “I know if everyone had that mentality then we wouldn’t have the democracy that we do,” he furthered. “I think it is still important to vote no matter the effect—or lack thereof—you think it will have.” Alan raised an important point about the Electoral College that showed that, as young voters, we do not fully understand the voting system we participate in. “I’m not 100% sure how the Electoral College works, but don’t they pretty much make the decisions for us? For example, in the last election, I know that Hillary won the popular vote, but she did not win the majority votes from the electoral college. If our vote really matters, then why was she not president?”

The Tower

Out of 12 students who are eligible to vote, they all planned on voting with the exception of one, who thought their vote simply did not matter in a blue state. Sterling explained, “I think it is very important to vote and that it is the civic duty of all Americans to vote.” Ben agreed, noting that “everyone should vote for someone because people for generations literally died so we could have this ability.”

I think it is very important to vote and that it is the civic duty of all Americans to vote.