It is a common tale that the youth is disengaged politically. However, while the Harvard Youth Poll reported 63% of youth ages 18 to 24 were likely to vote in this year’s election, 35.7 % of the 98 CVHS seniors polled who are eligible to vote indicated that are registered. 

Seniors who met voting eligibility requirements indicated that they either did not have enough time to register.

In a study conducted by the Pews Research Center, researchers found that those who mainly relied on social media were less politically knowledgeable and engaged. According Upstream News’ survey 42.3% of CVHS seniors get their news information from social media. Another 35.1% received their news from select online news.

91.8% of Upstream News’ surveys respondents indicated they believe the media is biased in the way they present news information. 

“I started to do my own research as opposed to hearing about others’ opinions and formulated my own opinions” said one senior survey respondent. 

“The news and the mediawants people to live in a state of fear,” said another senior poll respondent. 

“I stopped watching the news because it’s too depressing,” said another poll respondent. 

21.4 % of seniors changed their stances on political issues after 2020.

“Societal issues have made me realize that centrist policies will not get things done,” said a CVHS senior poll respondent. 

“I became radicalized and was introduced to the idea that our system is working as designed and there is no way to reform it,” said another respondent.

“My beliefs previously aligned with more conservative principles; however, my views have shifted in the time being due to the way that COVID-19 has been addressed in the US. I believe that ALL people should wear masks, businesses should not be at maximum capacity, and social distancing protocols ought to be followed. Therefore, I now have a more liberal stance on current social issues,” said another respondent.

When asked what our country’s main concern was, over 70% had the same concern- Covid-19. 94.6% felt that the country is not doing a decent job handling Covid-19. Other said, “What else could they have done, the borders were closed and the government was shut down. there was no other option.”

85.7% feel that the country is going in the wrong direction. 

41% of the seniors surveyed indicate they have similar political views to those of their parents. However, most others indicated their views were the polar opposite. Another smaller percentage indicated their parents were neutral or uninformed on most topics. 

73.9% said they would vote for Biden and 14.8% for Trump when asked who they would vote for if the elections were held today. 11.3% wrote in that they would vote for candidates who are no longer running. 

But when seniors were asked who they thought would win, 41.8% thought Biden would win and 37.8% believed Trump would win, while 19.4% remained unsure. 

“Based off the current polling and the political climate, Trump has more of the advantage of getting a second term than Biden receiving his first,” said one respondent.

“[There has been] a general lack of responsibility in how COVID-19 has been addressed by the Republican Party (opening up businesses too early, not following social distancing, protesting mask use), Black Lives Matter, as there continues to be discrimination and death of our Black brothers and sisters. As more gen-z-ers are eligible to vote, they will openly express their opinions against racial inequality,” replied a respondent who felt that Biden would win the election.

Some seniors are not so hopeful at the turnout and the results.

“Trump would probably win just because the United States is weird and uneducated. Also, people aren’t very passionate about voting for Biden (ex. #settleforbiden), so this may unfortunately sway the election,” replied one respondent.

“I believe a lot of young voters will end up not voting and many older people who use their vote are adamant about not seeing Biden in office. Also, it is up to the electoral college, not the popular vote,” said another respondent.

However, there are some seniors who are still hopeful about the turnout and the results.

“I have hope that the large numbers of new voters, like myself, and the fact that more voters are witnessing the current Republican leader’s demonstrations of incompetency as a leader will turn the majority of votes to blue and give the Democrats a win in 2020” said a senior respondent.