Voting at CHS may or may not be scarce. Since there is only a small fraction of students who are 18, it is very difficult to have these very seniors start their voting careers. According to census data, in 2020, the highest amount of 18-year-olds in the 21st century voted at a grand total of 66.8%. From ages 18-24, according to census data, 76% of 18-24-year-olds voted in the 2020 election.

, what is voting like at CHS? Do seniors vote? What is the Virginia Youth Voting Awareness Initiative? Let’s take a look at what these statistics and initiatives might be like. According to polls taken during lunches, a majority of the students who were pre-enrolled to vote were asked to do so during a certain government class here at CHS. Other seniors had no idea. According to a survey taken during the three lunch periods on October 21, there were many different responses. The majority of the respondents, totaling 24 students, who also claimed to be on the liberal side of the spectrum, were voting. On the other hand, only 3 seniors who are 18 are not voting during this upcoming election. A variety of the students interviewed are pre-registered to vote, at a standing of 13 students. So, a majority of the students interviewed were either planning to vote during this election in November, or they are pre-registered to vote for 2024, or when they turn 18. 

There are many other initiatives and solutions to this problem of not voting that consumes the youth population. A new bill was even created that enables 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, putting Virginia next to Maryland and D.C., where you can also pre-register at 16. Since voting at this age is very unpopular and insignificant to the majority of 18 to 24-year-olds, pre-registering can significantly raise the number of young voters in Virginia. Despite these new laws and initiatives to get high school students to vote, there is only a small fraction of Virginia youth pre-registering to vote. So, what further plans could be made to encourage Virginian youth to vote?

A high school student here at CHS was interviewed: 

“In AP Government must register to vote, or pre-register, so I am registered to vote in the next election.”

What do you look for in a candidate? “A candidate who is trustworthy, and a candidate who won’t go back on his words”

What issues are you interested in? What issues do you find most pressing? “I guess the shootings in Charlottesville and in the state and nation, not only gun violence but also the rights of people, those who aren’t the majority of the nation, as in Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others. Not only including men but also women and all others.”