Mt. Pleasant students cast votes in Tuesday election

MT. PLEASANT - The importance of voting is not lost on many Mt. Pleasant High School seniors. Plastered on their jackets, and proudly displayed, many seniors wore their 'I Voted” stickers on Tuesday. Seen as a right of passage, many seniors cherish their right to vote, and during a historic, contentious election, voting turnout has skyrocketed, even among eligible high school students.

Many seniors are taught the importance of voting in the state-mandated U.S. government course, taught by social studies teacher Jeff Batty. Batty emphasizes the importance of civic engagement on the first day of the course, stating that to be citizens, they must stay active.

'I think that we're citizens, not subjects, and for citizens to stay citizens they have to stay active,” Batty said.

Batty reinforced that it is a citizen's civic responsibility to vote so that they do not become passive participants in democracy.

'I think if we don't take our responsibilities as citizens seriously, then we really end up as subjects again,” Batty said.

Many seniors, including Jacob Fry, take their responsibility seriously and vote for values they believe in. Most seniors take issues like equality, the economy, the coronavirus pandemic response, climate, taxes and more into consideration when thinking of who to vote for.

'I voted because I care about the future, our planet, people's lives, If I didn't vote nothing would change for what I believe in and their lives,” Fry said.

Senior Brevin Wilson, cautions first-time voters to research their choices, and make sure that they understand the policies and positions of your candidate. He suggested talking to fellow classmates about policies and candidates.

Wilson is one of many first-time voters at the high school, not knowing what to expect but excited nonetheless. He voted early on Monday, enjoying the process.

'It was interesting. I didn't know any of the processes or how it was going to look, how the ballot was going to look,” Wilson said.

'I walked in and handed them my driver's license, and they sent me on my way,” he added.

The 2020 election has seen record youth turn out with youth votes far exceeding their turnouts in the 2016 and 2018 elections, according to NPR.

Wilson enjoyed his involvement in the civic process and can't wait to participate in democracy and voice his opinion in the next election.

'I felt satisfied. It was my first time, and I know that I've done my civic duty by voting. It has been a big year. It's been all over social media that everybody needs to vote so I went out and voted,” Wilson said.