As anticipation builds as the election is less than a week away, new voters from South High are ready to have their voices heard.
All students participated in a mock election this week voting in their social studies classes. Students who will turn 18 before Tuesday made sure to register to vote.
This election cycle, Missourians are voting for many things including president, governor, Senate, as well as 5 Amendments to the Missouri Constitution.
Senior Sahil Sajid said he signed up to vote for the election this year after he saw an ad on social media.
“I was 17 and a half and saw an ad on Snapchat with a link to register and vote so I clicked on it and it took me to the website to register,” he said.
Sajid thought the overall process was pretty simple and thinks that everyone who has the opportunity to vote should vote.
“This is a must-vote election and is important for young people’s voices to be heard and allows them to try and create change,” he said.
He thinks that no matter how old you are you can still have a voice when voting.
“I thought it was a pretty important election, and I feel that it’s important to make sure our voices are heard as young people because most young people don’t vote, and if we don’t vote, then what we want to see won’t change. so I think voting is the most important thing we can do,” said Sajid.
Senior Addison Vulgamott was actually able to register to vote at South during lunch back in the fall.
“A few weeks ago during lunch, people were here at the school and they came up to my lunch table and asked if I was 18, and since I was turning 18 in a few days I got registered to vote,” she said.
Voting is something that Vulgamott takes seriously and realizes the importance of it.
“It’s a really big honor and a right that you have, and you should use it to your advantage because there’s a lot of people who don’t get the opportunity to make choices for their country, and I think everyone needs to do their part,” she said.
Since her Government class last year, Vulgamott said she has always been looking forward to voting and enjoys staying informed with what is going on.
“I’ve always had an opinion on politics, somewhat, just because I like to educate myself on political issues,” she said.
Vulgamott said she always thinks it is important to discuss politics with others and believes in peaceful conversations.
“I discuss politics with my friends even if I’m discussing politics with my family and we have different views. It’s still so important to talk about it, and you can have a productive conversation without it becoming an argument,” she said.
History teacher Stephen Ehrstein’s first election was the 1992 presidential election, and he believes everyone who is able should vote.
“I know this is going to sound corny, but because I’m a social studies teacher, it is your civil responsibility to make your voice known, and if you don’t vote, people will not listen to you,” he said.
Ehrstein first recalls seeing a big push for voter registration with MTV campaign “Rock the Vote,” which encouraged a new generation of voters in the 1990s with the help of celebrities and various stars.
“In the 90s there was the MTV rock the voting thing where they would have big rallies and bring out celebrities and music stars at the time,” he said.
Ehrstein has a perspective on teaching about government and politics and understands the importance of staying impartial.
“Our job is to help students learn how to think, not what to think,” he said.
Sajid thinks that this election will have a big impact on our future and our generation.
“This election has a lot of different amendments and propositions to vote on that will impact our generations, even the presidential election. So everyone who can vote needs to vote,” Sajid said.
