As polls open across the nation today, Cal High’s student voters join a surge of Americans casting their votes for the 2024 presidential election.
According to a poll emailed by The Californian, eight of the 37 senior respondents are planning to cast their ballots. Three are voting for Republican candidate Donald Trump, five are voting for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and none are voting for a third-party candidate.
For Kaden Fogelman, an 18 year old senior registered to vote, one major issue he wants addressed by the president is women’s abortion rights.
“I’m going to vote for Kamala Harris because she supports women’s rights to abortion,” Fogelman said. “She works with the people and she isn’t trying to divide our country.”
Fogelman is excited about his first time voting for an election and believes that it is a privilege for him to cast his ballot.
Senior Billy Piggot, who is also voting for Harris, is concerned about the issues of transgender rights and women’s rights to abortion.
“The overturning of Roe v. Wade was very huge and I think that it’s important to protect women’s rights to their own bodies,” Piggot said.
Piggot is excited to vote in his first election because he wants to have a strong role in politics.
The same goes for senior Dylan Mize, who is thinking about voting for Trump this election.
“I think it’ll be pretty cool,” Mize said. “I could voice my opinion.”
For Mize, a concern he wants to see alleviated is current gas prices and the cost of other daily spendings. Like Mize, senior Jake Vignolo is voting for Trump because he likes the former president’s plans for the economy and lowering taxes.
But his main concern revolves around border security.
“It’s definitely the border policy that gets me,” Vignolo said. “[Illegal] immigrants shouldn’t be able to come in and harm US citizens.”
Vignolo believes young voters will be very influential in this election and that everyone eligible should vote.
But there are also students who are are eligible to vote but are not participating.
“I chose not to vote in this election simply because I’m not that interested in politics nor do I really have the time to put thought into it right now,” senior Esther Woo said.
On the other hand, some educators believe that voting is extremely important, especially for the younger demographic.
“[Young people] are very powerful,” American Government teacher Tasneem Khan said. “When young people go out in a mass to vote, when they go out in a mass and protest…trust me, the legislators are listening.”
Some students aren’t eligible to vote but still have an opinion about who should be elected.
A poll emailed by The Californian to the entire student body reveals that 70.8% (104 out of 144 respondents) would vote for Harris if given the opportunity.
Meanwhile, 22.9% (33 respondents) would vote for Trump. The remaining 6.3% (9 respondents) would vote for a third-party candidate.
Sophomore Kasturi Raut said that if she was eligible to vote she would support Trump. Raut is most concerned about the economy and the border security.
“I want to choose a president that aligns with my priorities,” Raut said. “I care about border security and the Republicans seem more promising than the Democrats.”
For sophomore Jay Moisa, some critical issues he wants addressed by the future president are gas prices, real estate and homelessness.
Moisa said that if he were able to vote he would cast his ballot for Harris.
“I feel like [Harris] knows that America is in a horrible housing crisis with a lot of homeless people,” Moisa said. “I think Trump would just straight up ignore the issue.”
Another sentiment present among Cal students is that none of the main party candidates are fit to be president.
Senior James Hoogs, who is turning 18 a week after the election, said he would vote for a third party candidate if he was eligible.
“I think Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything meaningful planned for this country,” Hoogs said. “And Donald Trump is Donald Trump.”
Issues Hoogs wants the president to address are the minimum wage and civil rights. He believes the minimum wage need to be adjusted regularly to account for inflation.
Whether they’re voting or not, many people view this election as a key moment that could shape America’s future.
“Democracy is on the ballot,” Fogelman said.