New Voters Weigh in on The Presidential Election

“I’m pretty excited to vote. It’s pretty cool having my opinion, being able to help who I support. We’re inside of Pennsylvania. It’s a crazy big swing state, so it’s pretty important. Who we support in PA could determine the outcome of the election.” – Sam Tonkon ‘25

“I feel like this election is such an important election, but  there’s not really a good candidate, so I’m still unsure who I am going to be voting for.” – Nick Donato ‘25

“I’m a little scared after our stat project where we saw a bunch of swing states go Republican, that’s a little scary, especially for Pennsylvania. I’m scared for a lot of my family and other states.” – Evelyn Seawright ‘25

“I’m kind of confused because I don’t know who to vote for, and I really haven’t put too much time into thinking about it, so I still need to do my research and figure it out.” – Brendan Flatow ‘25

“Well, first of all, my family is very politically active. So just, politics are always being brought up in my house. It’s just very important, I think, to vote.” – Sam Tonkon ‘25

“I feel like it’s a civic duty to vote.” – Nick Donato ‘25

“…Because the Republicans can’t take Pennsylvania, absolutely not as a new voter.” –  Evelyn Seawright ‘25

“Because I’m eligible, I should vote. I think that everybody is eligible. Should vote because, like, if you want, I guess you can’t complain if you don’t vote, so you may as well vote.” –  Brendan Flatow ‘25

“I don’t know much about the system yet, so I need to, first of all, be more educated, I need to do more research before I vote, but I’m just excited to see how the polls work.” – Sam Tonkon ‘25

“Research, candidates, not everyone’s going to be the best one, but as long as you like, as long as you vote, at least you have a decision. That’s kind of the point of democracy is that everyone has a decision. Don’t give up your vote, because that’s going to pick the candidate you don’t want. You have an opinion. Whether you decide you do or not, you definitely do.”  – Evelyn Seawright ‘25

“I hope to learn how like the polls work and how voting works and then like how I kind of want to do research, going into the next election, when I vote for it because like there’s more than just the presidential election. Like I vote for, it’s like the senators and stuff so yeah gotta.” – Brendan Flatow ‘25

“Looking for someone who’s going to keep the country safe and who’s going to do a good job at their job.” Brendan Flatow ’25

“I’m looking for someone that will represent what I believe in, and also be a good representation of the people.” – Anonymous 

“I’m looking for a candidate whose international policy is very strong. I would say I’m more of a retrospective voter, and I’m also looking for strong economic policies in this upcoming election, and definitely a lower death rate due to fentanyl-related drug overdoses, because I live in the city and I see a lot of that around me.” – Andrew Blum ’25

“I’m looking for someone that not only represents me but also the people I care about. So try not to be selfish. In this election, I’m trying to weigh my options and make a good decision.” – Anderson Swanger ’25

“I’m looking for someone who can run the country and treat all people equally as a new voter.” – Grayson Scott ’25

“No I don’t.” – Brendan Flatow ’25

“I feel influenced, but not both of them. They have different values in who they’re voting for, or they vote differently. But I don’t like, I’m influenced by each of them, but I am picking one side.” – Anonymous 

“As a new voter, I feel somewhat influenced by my parents’ ideas, but I feel like I formulate, most of my ideas on my own.” – Blum ’25

“I would say no, but obviously it in respect like I got free will, but at the same time, I was raised by two people who are gonna vote for the same candidate in this election.”- Anderson Swanger ’25

“Not really, because we’re not really a political family.” – Grayson Scott ’25

“I do not because I don’t know what my peers are voting for.”- Brendan Flatow ’25

“No.”- Anonymous

“I do not feel obligated in any way to vote with my peers. I want to vote on what I think is going to help our country the most.” – Andrew Blum ’25

“No, not at all.” Anderson Swanger ’25

“No, but I feel like that is a problem. No, with social media, I feel like people are influenced a lot by their friends and what they see online, who they vote for without doing their research.” – Grayson Scott ’25