I registered to vote two years ago during AP American Government and Politics class. The reason? Quite frankly, it was for some extra credit. I didn’t even know what party to register under, so the teacher gave me a “are you a Democrat or Republican?” quiz to take. I was 60-40, in favor of the Democrats. Even though I’m a registered Democrat, I have several conservative stances on important issues.
During this past election, I have seen more people my age get involved than ever before. So many people have said our generation is not informed. I’ve seen the opposite on our campus. So many are volunteering.
By Daniella Choynowski
Staff Writer
I registered to vote two years ago during AP American Government and Politics class. The reason? Quite frankly, it was for some extra credit. I didn’t even know what party to register under, so the teacher gave me a “are you a Democrat or Republican?” quiz to take. I was 60-40, in favor of the Democrats. Even though I’m a registered Democrat, I have several conservative stances on important issues.
During this past election, I have seen more people my age get involved than ever before. So many people have said our generation is not informed. I’ve seen the opposite on our campus. So many are volunteering.
I was never interested in politics before. I used to dread the days on AP Government where all we watched was C-SPAN. I don’t know what has changed with me. Maybe it is because of all the excitement surrounding what promises to be an historic election. I can’t say I’ve ever been bored while watching the latest campaign news. McCain compares Obama to Paris Hilton, who then fires back with a witty ad of her own? You can’t make this stuff up.
Over fall break, I went to downtown Lancaster to cast my absentee ballot. After a long fiasco involving actually finding the voting office, proper I.D., and an address change, I was finally handed ballot no. 006470.
The moment I glanced at the ballot, I knew I was in trouble. Sure, I knew who all the presidential candidates were (by the way, when is Ralph Nader finally going to give up?). But the rest of them? The only names I knew were from signs stuck in people’s lawns.
The only really informed choice I made when voting was the presidential candidate, whose identity I will not reveal. As for the others, I’m sort of ashamed to say I voted based on party lines and name recognition. Do I know anything about their policy? No.
There was a back to the ballot, on which there was some kind of proposal for Lancaster. The language and wording of the proposition was so ambiguous and hard to understand that I left it blank. From what I could decipher, the proposed law dealt with land, mortgages, and banks. I didn’t want to accidentally vote for something that had potential to cause trouble for my family and the rest of the county.
My point is: you may be the most politically active person on campus, but you are never too informed. Just watching the news isn’t good enough. Voting counts, so you might as well put some thought into it. All of it.
