Members of the community participated in the general election on Nov. 8 by voting for the first time, participating in a nationwide mock election and volunteering at campaign headquarters.

Jake Broder ’17, who voted for the first time, said he woke up early so that he could participate in the election.

“I like that I made that contribution,” Broder said. “Maybe it doesn’t matter as much in California, as far as my presidential vote goes, but I hope my votes on the propositions matter more.”

Broder was late to class due to long lines at his polling place, and World Languages teacher Simona Ghirlanda made an effort to vote before school started this morning but was deterred by long lines. Ghirlanda says she intends to cast her vote later today.

Odessa Chiklis ’17, who is too young to vote in this election, said she feels frustrated with her inability to participate in the vote.

“I feel very upset because I would like to contribute and feel like I was partially responsible for the elected president, and I feel helpless,” Chiklis said.

History teacher Katherine Holmes-Chuba said she viewed voting as an opportunity to spend time with her family.

“My daughter is back in town and we’re going to vote together and I’m very excited to do that,” Holmes-Chuba said.

Last week, history teacher Dave Waterhouse announced the results of the mock election that upper school students participated in. According to Waterhouse, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton earned 48 percent of the vote in the poll sponsored by Votes NMH.

Broder, who is enrolled in AP United States Government and Politics, said that the mock election was not an effective way to get students involved in the election.

“I think the school should have had an assembly on voting and the election, and had more opportunities at school to register students to vote,” Broder said. “They had not a single assembly about the election, which is absurd.”