The heated 2024 campaign is more than a race between candidates and parties. Polls indicate that the preservation of democracy is among the top concerns for many voters.
As we approach Election Day, we wanted to hear how young people view this moment.
海角换妻 鈥淢orning Edition鈥� host Lori Mack and Special Correspondent Diane Orson visited E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield, 海角换妻, and spoke with a group of seniors. Here鈥檚 a sampling of what they had to say:
On voting (or not)
Gabriella Boltseridge, 17: 鈥淚鈥檓 really close to being able to [vote]. My birthday is on Nov. 28 so I just miss it. I was really upset about it because I鈥檓 turning 18 this year. It鈥檚 really scary to have people in these high-power positions who are so much older than you and they鈥檙e trying to decide what鈥檚 gonna happen for your future and you just don鈥檛 get a say in it because you鈥檙e just not there yet.鈥�
Ben Greb, 18: 鈥淚 think that this is more than just this four-year term. I think that the Republican Party is prepping JD Vance to run in 2028. For me, personally, I am a Republican. I do like the ideology that [former President Donald] Trump has. And I think that JD Vance will be a very good candidate for the 2028 election if he does run. As a senior in high school not going to college, I'm going straight into trade school, I think that this election is going to shape my future.鈥�
On what may lie ahead
Ainsley Bourbeau, 16: 鈥淥ne of the biggest things about this election is that it kind of sets a precedent for how we move forward. Because this is the one of the first times we鈥檝e had a felon running for office. And like, that鈥檚 about character. This is the face of our country and having someone who has been charged with crimes at the head of that creates a bad image for us as a country and is a poor representation of us as people. This is also a super high-stakes election 鈥榗ause there鈥檚 a lot of big issues on the ballot and there鈥檚 a lot of Supreme Court seats that could be up for grabs during the four-year term.鈥�
On immigration
Lyliette Guzman Chavez, 17: 鈥淥ne of the most important things is immigration. I'm an immigrant myself from Cuba. So while I think that immigration policies do need a lot of reform, the way immigrants are being dehumanized and attacked by some of our politicians is really discouraging. I think that being hateful is the easy road and, you know, having empathy and compassion takes a lot more work. And that's just something that a lot of our politicians are not doing when it comes to immigrants. The process, the actual process for applying to move to the United States is very difficult and it takes a very long time and a lot of people do not have that time. I mean, no one wants to leave their country. I can tell you that. My parents didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave. But there's just situations where people have no other option. And then they're penalized for illegally coming to the country, but there is nothing else they can do a lot of the time.鈥�
On reproductive rights and applying to college
Aileen Liu, 17: 鈥淚鈥檝e never left 海角换妻, but if I do plan on leaving it, I don鈥檛 think I could ever choose to live in a state that would deny me access to health care. I decided to apply to schools in states where abortion is legal rather than illegal.鈥�
Isaiah Gonzalez, 17: 鈥淚 would say my biggest concern would probably be abortion, as well with freedom of choice. I mean, not like I can have a baby! But I got family members and friends that have been affected by it and I could only imagine what would happen if they didn't have said choice.鈥�
On transgender rights
Charlie Heng Litrico, 17: 鈥淭hese two candidates are just so wildly different in their views and particularly in the case of Donald Trump. He鈥檚 very clearly quite extreme with many of them. And something that definitely gets thrown around a lot especially in rhetoric and in things like Project 2025 is transgender rights in this country. As a transgender student myself and still a minor, the fact that just all over the country I鈥檓 seeing the rights of other transgender people just slowly stripped away more and more and more with so few people willing to stand up for them and protect them. And in the future when I am able to vote I will definitely be voting because when I vote it's not going to be just voting for a candidate, it's going to be voting for my life.鈥�
On being in the middle
Lincoln Kelly, 17: 鈥淚f I鈥檓 being honest, I鈥檓 very in the middle. My family, for example, is on both sides. Half of my family is left, half of my family鈥檚 right. So, for me, I鈥檝e always just grown up being kind of being in the middle and trying to be persuaded. It's hard being in the middle.鈥�
