Over ten million people have submitted their ballots for the 2020 presidential election and more are rolling in by the second. Not only does the election bring new presidential candidates and the possibility of a new president, it also brings new eligible voters. This year, a select few members of the class of 2021 can vote and many of them have exercised this privilege.

Seattle Prep Students have both submitted their ballots and participated in  one aspect of United States citizenship for the first time. The voting process resonated differently with each student. For some it was exciting and for others it was nerve-racking. All in all, these students and many other members of the class of 2021 have taken initiative in the politics of their country in the best way possible: voting.

For senior Jared Roznos, the voting process was thrilling because he felt like he “was actually making an impact.”

By exerting the right to vote, Roznos felt like a valuable member of society. He elaborated on his excitement when he said, “being able to directly involve myself with something so vital to our country felt good.”

Roznos prides himself on his involvement in the country now more that ever. He now feels like an agent of change rather than just a passive member of society. During the process of voting, Roznos found himself “scrolling through news articles just reading about everything that is happening and about the candidates.”

Not only did he become politically active through voting, Roznos discovered more about the United States through research. Roznos focused on educating himself and learning about the various candidates to develop a better understanding of what he was actually voting for. Sometimes the different perspectives and parties became confusing, for example Roznos noted that, “everyday there are many new updates with all the different parties.”

Having to keep up with the political matters was draining although; in the end the “satisfaction of dropping the ballot in the drop box” made the process all worth it.

Another senior who had the privilege of voting this year was McKenna Dorscht ’21. She had a similar experience to Roznos regarding the excitement of dropping the ballot in the box even though she found the process to be “weird” and different. Noting that this was Dorscht’s first voting experience, she found that it was a little confusing. She started out the process with an abundance of research. In the process of researching candidates she used many strategies and described, “I took time to look at different candidates’ campaigns and websites to see their stance and what they hoped to achieve in a presidential term.”

Dorscht took advantage of internet resources to learn about the candidates in an unbiased manner. Dorscht also found important information about the process of voting in her AP U.S. Government class. She described how the class would start “by talking about what has happened in the presidential race since the previous class.”

She also gathered many sources in the AP U.S. History class that helped her learn about both the voting process and the individual parties’ ideals. Dorscht gathered information from as many sources as she could find because she wanted to form an individualized perspective on government that excluded outward bias. In the end, Dorscht discovered more about American politics and simply was “thankful for the ability to participate in our government.”

Being eligible to vote signifies the right to participate in government and express one’s opinion in a setting that influences the country. This right is often overlooked of as shown in the abundance of people who did not vote in the last presidential election. Members of the class of C021 have the opportunity of being the youngest and most influential voters in this years election. Both Dorscht and Roznos have taken initiative and have dropped their ballots, who’s next?