The SCA might be the biggest school election this year, but a much larger one is coming up this November – our national election.
The 2024 voting cycle will decide the direction of our country for the next four years. Believe it or not, about half the seniors we share the halls with every day will be able to vote for president this fall.
Cassidy Mages-Billingsley, a senior, told KTR she decided to register to vote “because I want my voice heard in this especially important election.”
Young voters are essential – we make up a huge part of the country, and the issues on the table in this election will affect us for the rest of our lives. According to a survey by the Harvard Kennedy School, only 9% of young people believe our country is heading in the right direction. If you’ll be eighteen this November, then your vote is the most powerful tool you have to tell our leaders what you want the future to look like.
As one CHS freshman put it, “Things are very drastic in this election, and whoever you vote for will mean a lot.”
Junior Everest Koester told us that if they could vote, they would definitely register. “Voting is the best way to make an impact on your community,” Everest said. “As someone who political decisions make a large impact on, I feel like it’s the best way to protect myself and my friends and family.”
Even if you aren’t old enough to vote this year, you still have a lot of opportunities to make a difference in this election. Mr. Robinson, our Government teacher, has a few suggestions.
“Local politics are a really great way to get involved,” he recommends. “Often, representatives in smaller government positions will be more responsive. And if you get involved with things like the school board, which makes decisions for just our school district, then sometimes their decisions will affect your life more than [representatives] at the national level.”
Another important opportunity for high schoolers is registering early to vote. If you’re sixteen this fall, you can benefit from a new Virginia policy, state code 24.2-403.1. This legislation recently passed, and it allows sixteen-year-olds to preregister, which makes voting easier once you turn eighteen. It also establishes a habit, which can be helpful to stick to, since life gets busy, especially around election season. You can find early voting registration forms at registration offices, the DMV, public libraries, and online at elections.virginia.gov/registration.
Mr. Robinson also suggests working for political campaigns if you are passionate about law, education, or just making people’s everyday lives better. He shared a positive experience working for a political candidate, and said, “I started in college, but starting in high school might be even better. You can sometimes also get paid for your work!”
A final recommendation about how to make a difference in this important election is simply keeping yourself informed. In our survey, we asked CHS students to rate their level of political knowledge – the average answer was a 7 out of 10.
This high number is encouraging, and the important thing is to keep reading the news, stay informed about what this election season will bring, and get involved with causes you care about.
