Aragon students recently voted in the Nov. 8 U.S. midterm election. Others pre-registered to vote for future elections at a booth in Center Court, run by Generation Voter.
There are two primary methods by which people vote, either by mail or in-person. For mail-in voting, every registered voter is sent a ballot which they can send back to their county elections office. One can also drop this off in person at a local county center, or vote directly at the polls on Election Day.
“I voted by drop box,” said senior Aldo Perez. “It was really easy. I think the research [on the candidates] was harder than the voting because I had to look at the different articles that are written about them and [also] see if there’s any bias.”
Any registered citizen over the age of 18 is eligible to vote. In the state of California, online pre-registration is also available for any 16 or 17 year olds interested in engaging in the voting process. Pre-registering allows students to have more time to sign up as a voter as well as access support from their local high school. In 2020, nearly a million students pre-registered across the 15 states that allow this system, and studies have shown that pre-registration improves voting rates.
“I feel that I have a choice to make that will ultimately affect the greater outcome of this country”
“I [felt] empowered [after pre-registering],” said junior Eshaan Thakral. “I feel that I have a choice to make that will ultimately affect the greater outcome of this country.”
Youth turnout in elections has been historically low, with less than half of individuals ages 18-29 voting in the elections from 1996 to 2016. Because young people are a large demographic, strategies like pre-registration were implemented to help push younger voters to the polls. In 2021, 161,326 California students pre-registered to vote, and anybody over the age of 16 can register in less than two minutes on the official California voter registration site.
“It’s very important for us to be voting right now,” Perez said. “Most of the older generations are voting, [but] our generation is the one that is finally coming into place and taking over from the previous [generations].”
To help support this youth voting initiative, a student-run organization known as Generation Voter hosted a table in Center Court on Nov. 1 to encourage older students to engage in democracy. Generation Voter, a subcommittee of the San Mateo Youth Activities Council, is an initiative designed to make voting more accessible for the youth and provide information surrounding the election process.
“Youth should have a chance to participate in democracy because they have a different experience than older generations,” said sophomore and Generation Voter representative Justin Wong.
“It’s very important for us to be voting right now”
To help spur students to pre-register, a variety of incentives such as water bottles and T-shirts were offered. Eligible students found the table useful and regarded pre-registration as something that they were glad to partake in.
“I would encourage people to pre-register because once you become 18 you can vote on the spot,” Thakral said. “My birthday is pretty late. I can’t exactly register to vote the night before.”
The table was overall a success, with over thirty people pre-registering during the lunch period.
“I found it really inspiring that people were actually taking the opportunity to pre-register early and taking the initiative to participate as soon as possible in our democracy,” Wong said. “[Voting] isn’t mandatory, but if you want to change something you don’t really like, it’s very important to participate.”
While voting can be daunting, it was a positive experience for those who did.
“I felt great about voting,” Perez said. “A week after [I voted], I got an email saying that my vote was counted. It was a chance for my voice to be heard.”
“It was a chance for my voice to be heard”
This notion of representation is a large motivator for why people want to vote. “I think it’s important to vote because this country is a democracy,” Thakral said. “We need to propel our leaders into the space that they should be in, and elect those who will serve the purposes of the people in this country.”
In alignment with California state goals, Aragon will keep students updated on the prospect of voting through the initiatives of the Secretary of State. Similarly, Generation Voter is planning another event surrounding pre-registration. The next opportunity to vote will be the California General Election in 2023.
