Several members of the senior class are casting their ballots for the 2024 presidential election taking place Nov. 5. They must decide whether to cast their ballots for Former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.
With the 2024 presidential election closing in, national and battleground state polls suggest that the race for the White House is currently tied, according to a New York Times and Siena College poll.
Throughout the fall, several students and clubs hosted multiple voter registration and pre-registration events on campus, attracting significant turnout from eligible seniors and juniors pre-registering for future elections. Long lines formed as students took advantage of the opportunity to register for voting waiting to ensure their vote counted in the upcoming election.
Among the school’s senior voters, Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as the preferred candidate, according to an informal survey. Seven random seniors who are eligible voters were asked who they would vote for, and all of them said that they would be voting for Harris.
Jacob Massey ’25 said that he believes that most seniors at the school support Harris.
“I think almost everyone who’s eligible will vote for Harris,” Massey said. “At most 10% will vote for Trump.”
Students’ support for Harris appears driven not only by closer alignment with her policies but also by a desire to cast an “anti-Trump” vote. Sam Cleland ’25 said that Trump’s actions in his first term as well as his criminal activities disqualify him as an eligible candidate, and emphasized that Harris’ vision resonates more strongly with him.
“In addition to the fact that I don’t agree with Trump’s policies, such as supporting corporate interests, tax cuts for the wealthy and cutting social security, Jan. 6 and his court convictions have shown me that he is not fit for office,” Cleland said. “Kamala Harris would take this country forward and fight for everyday Americans, unlike Donald Trump.”
Massey said he wasn’t too sure whether to vote for Harris in California, due to Harris’ overwhelming odds of winning the state in this election.
“If I lived in a swing state, it would be a no- brainer for Harris,” Massey said. “But she doesn’t need my vote in California.”
Some senior voters expressed a lack of enthusiasm for either candidate. Clara Conrad ’25 said she will cast her vote for Harris but expressed her dissatisfaction with the options available.
“I will be voting for Kamala Harris due to the threats that Donald Trump poses to our country, but if I got to choose the candidates for this election, I wouldn’t pick either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump to stand as a candidate,” Conrad said.
As many of the year’s seniors prepare to make their voices heard in a pivotal election, turnout seems to be high. Although some stand behind Harris’ policies and support her as president, others are only voting for Harris in an attempt to prevent Former President Trump from winning another four-year term.
