As a new presidential election comes up this November, this year will be the first time many students will have the opportunity to vote at their local polling place. As the opportunity sets in, many have already decided on whether they plan on voting this year or not, and who they plan on voting for. Some are unsure as to whether they even intend on planning this year. Whatever the case, many students have already set their sights as to who they plan on voting for this year.
One such student, Eliza Johnston, 21, from Frederick is in her second year of FCC. She has decided not to vote this year. As to her reasoning for why, she stated “I don’t really know much about Kamala, and I pretty much don’t like Trump. It doesn’t help that my parents really want me to vote for Trump.”
She added that she wasn’t “really a fan of Project 2025, since it’s planning on making us be even more restrictive of our protective rights. I think it’s also trying to mandate Christianity as the official religion of the United States, which you know goes against the whole ‘freedom of religion’ and ‘separation of powers’ thing. I’ve also heard that Project 2025 wants to get rid of the Department of Education which is absolutely a huge no in my book.”
She continued, “One thing I am for with Trump’s Project 2025 is him lowering gas prices, but the US can’t run on gas prices, or the economy in and of itself for that matter. It’s just not feasible.”
Another student, Evan Green, 19, who is from New Market and is in his second year of FCC has already voted. Mentioning that he voted for Kamala, Green explains that he voted for her because she “is representing a part of America that has never been seen before with a black woman in office. I also like her views on abortion as a pro-choice candidate, and I also like her political experience being that she was District Attorney and Vice President.”
As to why he didn’t want to vote for Trump this year, he stated “I don’t want Trump in office because of his immigration policies and this whole thing about him building a wall. I don’t like how his immigration policies will also make passports harder to get. I also just don’t like his racism and all his sexual assaults.”
Adam Pope, 20, who is from Mt. Airy, in his second year at FCC, has also already voted this year. As to who he has voted for, Pope had declined to answer, stating “I’m not really comfortable with sharing who I’m voting for because politics, especially at this time of year, tends to be divisive and extremely reactionary and I just don’t want to get into any of that right now.”
Skylar Black, 26, who is from Frederick and in their first year at FCC said that they were voting for Kamala this year. As to why this was, they stated “because the other side is downright f***ing evil. I would encourage anybody who’s a Democrat or who has any smidge of intelligence to vote for Kamala, because the fact that Kamala and Trump are neck and neck right now is an absolute dog and pony show.”
Alex Demiray, 21, who is from Petersville and in his second year at FCC mentioned that he was voting for Harris this year. As to why that was, he stated that it was “because of her environmental policies.”
As to why he wasn’t voting for Trump this year, Demiray mentioned that it was “because I don’t really think Trump’s environmental policies are as good as Kamala’s. Other than that, I don’t really hate the guy, I just don’t really care much for him.”
Some, however, are undecided on who they want to vote for. For example, Hanna Matthews, 19, who is from Urbana and in her 1st year at FCC is currently not registered to vote. Asked who she would vote for if she did have the opportunity to vote, Matthews stated that she would “probably choose the candidate that lines up best with my values.” When asked if that meant Trump or Kamala, she was simply undecided on the matter.
Another student, Yena Yoon, 16, who is from Frederick and in her 1st year at FCC as a dual enrollment student from Oakdale High, technically cannot vote since she is a minor. When asked who she would vote for if given the chance, Yoon stated that she’s “not really into politics so I wouldn’t know.”
Although it is too late to register/update voter registration this year, those who have already registered to vote can check their local polling places through https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/PollingPlaceSearch. For a more in-depth search, voters can search their local polling place through https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2024/PG24_Polling_Places.pdf. Election Day is tomorrow on November 5 and voting will be open from 7 am to 8 pm.
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