by Luna Sandoval
Every year, hundreds of locals take part in local elections that are very important for creating a place that the people feel best in. While the voting age is currently 18, many argue that 16 and 17 year olds should be able to participate in elections, especially when the end results affect them.
In the wake of a very consequential election day, many students are talking about when they will be able to vote. Only five students were of legal age to vote this election day, and four of them voted (one intended to, but forgot!); meanwhile, many students younger than they are resentful that they can’t yet vote.
Seniors are excited to have cast their first votes. “I am an adult now, and that's what adults do,” said Kaden Nelson. They have confidence that their votes matter. Hayden Hart finds it “cool to have an impact on the town I grew up in.”
Some students resent not being able to vote yet, and they are aware that numbers matter, especially when a town’s population is less than 1,000. Hayden’s sister Mica, a junior, said, “It’s very, very old people making the decisions for us that might not exactly understand” the things kids care about. “Democracies only work,” she continued, “when everyone has a say.”
Should the voting age be lowered to 16? Attitudes vary. “The difference between a sixteen year old’s brain and an eighteen year old’s brain is not significant,” asserted junior Nate Kissingford. “We appear to not care about politics because we are denied that fundamental right to vote.” Science teacher Beth Lakin agreed: “We spend so much time telling 16 and 17 year olds that their voice matters, but don’t even give them a voice,” she said.
But some students didn’t even know what the voting age is (18? 21?), while others don’t pay attention to the issues. “I just don’t follow along with politics,” said junior Anna Krickbaum.