On November 5th, Jones seniors found themselves waiting in the long poll lines to cast their first ever vote in this highly anticipated election.
The thrill of voting for the first time caused many students to prepare ahead of time for the big day.
“I felt very excited about being able to vote…I put a lot of work in the preceding months to get a state ID so I can have a form of state identification and be able to register to vote,” said Megan Healy ‘25.
For many students,their voices heard on such a large scale sparked strong feelings regarding their role in this process.
“I felt more powerful in a way, now that my voice could be heard from a national level, rather than just a local level. So I feel very empowered, and I feel like I’m part of something, knowing that I’m contributing to our next leader,” said Nevaeh Jean-Pierre ‘25.
While not all seniors could vote in this election, they’re still excited they can participate in the election process through poll working.
“I think that it’s good that I’m still able to contribute to the process of voting without being able to vote. I really wish I was able to vote, but I did what I could, and I think that’s important,” said Stephanie Adenso ‘25.
Whether or not they themselves chose to vote, poll workers remain another crucial part of the election process helping people through the process.
“I make sure that people can get registered to vote, because we did on-site registration, making sure that they fill out the proper forms, they get their ballots, they vote, and that their vote goes through,” said Adenso. “I’m responsible for setting up, taking down the equipment, counting ballots, and, like, kind of all the little things you don’t think about voting.”
These poll worker students recount their own experiences and viewpoints on election day.
“I thought my experience was really good. There was a lot of fear mongering on the internet, though, day of I was kind of scared. I was like, what is gonna happen? But it was pretty chill for the most part. So I had a good time as usual, but it was really busy for my experience,” said Adenso.
Following the voting process, some students don’t seem so confident in the impact of their vote following the release of the election results.
“Now that I voted, I don’t know if it had much impact and even if it didn’t the general election and didn’t happen as I wanted to, but I voted for everything I didn’t leave anything unchecked…I do think I had at least some impact on the smaller scale races” said Healy.
Some students call on social media as evidence for their feelings regarding the election and expectation for its outcome.
“Social media is catered towards what you want to see. So that’s kind of like, I thought Kamala was gonna win but also my social media is geared more towards like democratic so I’m seeing things that other people aren’t seeing,” said Adenso.
No matter the experience Jones students had this election, many already started looking towards their next chance to take part in.
“I hope that I can contribute to more elections that may be coming up, whether it be for governors or mayors, I’ll want to vote for what I think is right for our community,” said Jean-Pierre.
While this election’s over, there’s still words of wisdom shared from this year’s election participants for all future voters of America.
“I definitely think knowing your precinct, your ward, and researching before you get to the polls is definitely important,” said Adenso. “At the polls, you can bring whatever papers you want, so we can’t stop you from having your research and everything there and voting. So make sure that you come to the polls prepared and know what you’re voting for.”
