To Vote or Not To Vote
Illustration by Kimberly Chen ‘26
The upcoming election is a stressful time for many people, both voters and nonvoters alike. How do NMH students and faculty feel about this upcoming election and what’s at stake?
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Esa Blume ‘25 and George Ning ‘26
There are many people on campus who can vote: faculty and staff, many seniors and postgraduate students, and even a few juniors. But, there are just as many who can’t vote: adults without U.S. citizenship, international students, most underclassmen, and seniors who turned seventeen this year or are turning eighteen after Election Day, like Lanie Blanton ‘25. Blanton is a seventeen-year-old four-year senior, turning eighteen exactly a week after Election Day. She finds it “isolating” because “these people can vote and you can’t vote but you’re in the same grade and you’ve done the same things.” With every election, there are usually a large number of people who can vote but choose not to. To this, Blanton is frustrated by those who choose not to vote because they are uninformed, “it just seems kind of selfish because they have access and the resources to understand why voting is important and relevant and they’re not doing that.”
The economy has been a leading topic during elections since the 2016 election and continues to be a topic that people focus on during elections, including Blanton. She says that if she had the chance to vote, she would focus mostly on the government’s economic policies and “who they want to tax and who they want to give more money to.” Depending on people’s view of how significant the election is for them, they may or may not be feeling stressed out about it. Blanton is simultaneously stressed and relaxed about the election; she has lived in the U.S. her entire life and says that she’s “really used to the way that the United States works as a system.” She says that she was more concerned about the election in 2016, when Trump first became a candidate.
NMH’s student body is composed of about 30% international students. International students who aren’t as affected by the election can only do so much to support their American classmates. Wyatt Amos ‘25 is a four-year senior who calls London home. After four years of studying in the U.S. he believes he has been able to get closer to U.S. politics, but he still finds conversations about it to be awkward. Although, there is one thing he is confident about when talking about politics: “When someone says they aren’t voting, I still think that is not the right thing to do.” In Europe, there are countries where voting is compulsory and you are fined if you don’t vote. Amos says that this is because voting is important and an “immense privilege.” It can be difficult for him to navigate conversations with people thinking about moving out of the U.S. depending on who wins the election. He feels that he has a privilege when it comes to choosing to study in America and having a home outside of it.
Derek Jara ‘25 is a four-year senior and just turned eighteen this past August and isn’t stressed about his vote, but is stressed about “who the winner will be by the end of this chaos.” Jara believes that this is the most important election of this generation because young people and current students are the future and the outcome of this election will affect us greatly for the next four years. Because Jara is part of the queer community and Ecuadorian, he is mostly focused on LGBTQ+ and immigration issues, as it directly affects him and his family.
There is a firm belief among these three students that voting is very important during this election and that it is frustrating when people say they can vote but are choosing not to. However, Jara feels that it is “up to everyone to decide what they would like to do with their right to vote.”
As the election season approaches, the significance of voting takes on different meanings within our school community. Like students, faculty members also approach elections with varying experiences. From seasoned voters to new citizens preparing to cast their first vote, and even those who engage deeply despite being ineligible, faculty have engaged with this election season in an array of ways.
Jim Shea has been teaching Government and Civil Liberties (Gov and Civ) for 25 years and is known for his intense but interesting and in-depth teaching. To encourage students to engage more deeply in elections, Jim started the “votes project” back in 1988, which was a nationwide high school mock election project involving 150 high schools. The schools that were involved would send in their results to NMH, and then the data would be compiled to declare the Electoral College winners for each of the states based on the high schools from those states. Jim conducted this project from the 1988 presidential election to the 2016 election. Unfortunately, the project was put on hold due to the impact of Covid.
Recalling the project, Jim said: “It used to be in James gym, we would set it up like a news studio, and on our election night, which was the Tuesday before the real election, students played news anchors, and they announced the results of the nationwide election, state by state, and we would fill up a big map behind them, blue and red for who won that state, and eventually declare an electoral college winner. We filmed the whole thing like a news studio, and it was streamed over the internet, and people would watch it all around the globe as we announced the results of our election.” Guiding multiple generations of students through election cycles, Jim witnessed a decline in the public enthusiasm for elections, and believes social media plays a role in this. “I think social media has lots of benefits from what I can see, but I think there are also lots of distractions out there that take people away from issues that I think are important to be discussed,” he said. Jim recalls how the campus once buzzed with lively discussions, particularly during the nationwide mock elections his students participated in, where debates were vigorous and students eagerly campaigned for their chosen candidate. During this time, the school also encouraged NMH students to go to New Hampshire, a swing state at the time, to canvass for the candidate they supported.
Gorgui Diaw, on the other hand, a newly naturalized citizen from Senegal, brings a fresh sense of excitement to his first time voting. Having lived in the U.S. for years, Gorgui recently became a citizen, a decision motivated by the desire to secure a stable future for his family and an ability to fully participate in the democratic process. “I have been paying attention to the election very closely. I used to watch CNN all the time, and listen to ‘The Voice of America’ on the radio.” Gorgui said, “I used to major in English back in college, and in my junior year, we had to choose one specific [type of] literature. I chose American literature to study and also the culture that comes with it. That is what actually got me motivated to come to the U.S.” This upcoming election, for Gorgui, is particularly significant, as it represents a choice between continuity and change in the direction of the country. His enthusiasm for the process is palpable, and he stresses the importance of exercising the right to vote: “I pay attention to the promises [the candidates] make and what direction they want to go as a country. Who is going to reduce the cost of living for us? Who is going to make us pay more taxes? Who’s going to have us pay more money to buy our needs? That is what is at stake here, there is a lot to consider…”
While Gorgui prepares to cast his first vote as a U.S. citizen, not all faculty members share this privilege. Hank, a Chinese citizen who lives in the U.S. with a green card, is unable to vote in the upcoming election. “No one ever asks me about my views,” Hank said. Despite feeling like his opinion doesn’t carry weight in discussions about U.S. elections, Hank remains keenly interested in the policies being debated in the U.S. He is especially vocal about his opposition to illegal immigration, which he believes “threatens national security”. On the other hand, Hank believes that legal immigrants like himself, who contribute to the development of the country, should be welcomed.
As these voices reflect, elections are more than a single event or a tally of votes–they are a mirror of the values, hopes, and anxieties of those who participate and even of those who cannot. While not everyone can cast a ballot, everyone has a role to play. Whether through discussion, teaching, or even just reflecting on what’s at stake, the election is a chance for all to think deeply about the country’s path forward. And maybe in those conversations, we might find a way to make everyone’s voice matter.
