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First Time Voters Cast Ballots
By Brian Winkel on November 14, 2012
Lately, an election seems more like a sporting event. In the midst of Americans fighting over the possible outcome of an election, many young people voted for the first time. According to Yahoo news, 18-29 year old voters made up 19 percent of the national electorate votes, a slight increase from the amount of young voters at in 2008.
Senior Ann Fienup felt good about her decision to vote in this election. "I felt super American. It felt awesome to know that I had a say in who gets to lead our country," Fienup said. Senior Ryan Ehrhardt also said he enjoyed watching the election results come in after voting for the first time. "It made me very happy to see some of the candidates I voted for win," Ehrhardt said.
Unlike some of the news horror stories about poll lines that stretched halfway around the globe, Fienup had a quick and easy voting process. "I got there and they had me sign a piece of paper and put my address on it. Then they sent me to another table, where they asked for my name, and I showed them my driver's license. They directed me to another table where they handed me a ballot," Fienup said. "After I was done filling in circles at a polling station, I put the ballot into the machine. I didn't have to wait at all. There was no line when I went. My polling site was pretty dead at 2:30 in the afternoon."
Senior Zach Souhrada-Rogers also noted the ease of the process. "It was easier that I expected and a lot quicker. I was surprised at it's simplicity. I was expecting lots of hoops to jump through and all sorts of fancy booths and machines. It was just a bunch of cardboard tri-folds on tables to fill in ballots," Souhrada-Rogers said.
Fienup plans to vote again in the future to take advantage of the opportunity Americans have. "I plan on voting in upcoming elections. Having a say in who gets to lead us, whether it's on a town or national level, is a privilege that we as Americans should take advantage of. Other parts of the world aren't nearly as lucky as we are," Fienup said.
Ehrhardt also urges the importance of voting after having the experience. "It is important to vote because the opportunity to put someone into a leadership position is a great honor to have, and it's the only way you can make sure the candidate represents you as an individual," Ehrhardt said.
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