Meet America’s first time voters

As the 2016 election approaches many of us will be able to vote for the first time. There are five percent more or 10.7 million more people who are able to register to vote, according to a Pew Research study.

Also in the recent primaries, voter turnout has hit a peak similar to the 2008 election.

First time voters for this election, get to make an impact by voting in this upcoming election.

“I feel great about being able to vote for the first time because I will have a say in how this country is run,” said Kerrigan Stern who is a first time voter in Maryland.

This election features candidates such as Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump has received a lot of press over his strong opinions during debates and more.

“This election has been one big show,” said Rashad Charles, a first time voter in Florida.

Kerrigan said she is disappointed by the options for our candidates during this election. She said all of the candidates she wanted to vote for dropped out of the race, making her voting decision more difficult.

Rashad found himself discouraged by the selection of candidates for this election.

“It really discourages you because the candidates are all extremes of a point of view and no person wants to really identify themselves as an extreme liberal or conservative,” he said.

As far as difference compared to previous elections, first time voters say that this election is different because of the candidates it presents.

“This year’s election seems out of whack,” said Annabelle Schmitt, a first time voter in Pennsylvania.

She said a lot of candidates including Sanders and Trump seem to have extreme viewpoints and there are few candidates that are in the middle.

“This election seems to have more far left and far right candidates. Past elections have been more tame with much less extreme candidates.”

Voters also showed that political party doesn’t seem to affect their decision as much and few first time voters believed that a political party matters.

“I originally believed it was important to identify with a political party but have recently changed my mind,” said Rashad.

He said that a political party doesn’t always determine someone’s views and can’t be a determining factor. He explained he knows some people who are registered Republican but now they don’t support that political party because they don’t feel that Trump shares similar interests.

Although political parties can identify someone’s standing the candidates represents that party.

Arshdeep Hanjra, a first time voter in New Jersey, said he doesn’t identify with any specific political party because so many people base their vote on the party that they align with instead of looking at certain issues and how they affect them.
This current election also has its differences from previous elections.

“I think the current election is representative of a lot of issues in America that have been left and haven’t been fully handled yet,” said Annabelle.

Some of the key issues for this election include immigration reform, the economy, healthcare, terrorism, and equality.
Some of these issue have yet to be handled in the past.

As a result there can be resentment towards the government and suppressed anger, said Annabelle.

“I just hope that America pulls through and makes a decision that will keep America going in the direction that we need,” she said.