This upcoming election is most definitely one for the books. With Republican nominee Donald Trump- who some would say is an “idiot” or “isn’t fit to run our country”, and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who some say is a “liar” or “corrupt”.
Some students here at Hastings High have very strong opinions about these candidates and this election.
“I for sure like Hillary more than Trump. Hillary actually has plans for when she becomes president, unlike Trump who just wants to build a wall,” senior Jordan Kelly said.
Kelly hasn’t been paying much attention to this election but what she has seen and heard on the news and social media hasn’t been good.
“All Trump worries about is attacking Hillary and taking her down. He can’t just discuss a topic with her, he always has to bring up something she has done,” Kelly said.
What people see on social media has a large impact on his/her thinking. One may see something pop up on his/her Facebook timeline about something bad that Clinton said in the last debate and automatically think negatively about it. In actuality, one may not know what the candidates were discussing, and it may turn out that what Clinton said was good.
“I don’t really watch the debates or pay attention to what’s going on in the election, I just see things on Facebook and that makes me not like either of them,” junior Ashley Hein said.
With neither candidates being favored in this election, it is a tough one for American voters. According to the Pew Research Center, half of the people who voted for one of the two major party candidates (Clinton or Trump) in the primaries say they do not back their candidate strongly. This is a very scary fact to many people. It also shows that there are many people who do not know who they will vote for or if they will even vote at all.
Another controversial topic in this election is voting for third party candidates(which are now on the ballot for this year’s election). With many people not liking the major party candidates, they are turning to the third party candidates. Many people will say that voting for a third party candidate is a waste of your vote. Senior Ally Johnson feels differently about this topic.
“I favor third party candidate Gary Johnson because of his views. I am registered as an independent and Johnson has ideas that stand right on that line between Democratic and Republican,” Johnson said.
With Johnson favoring a third party candidate, she feels strongly about the importance of a vote.
“A lot of people think that their vote doesn’t matter but it does,” Johnson said, “I really do feel like the third party matters. People need to understand that their vote does matter even if it is a third party candidate,” Johnson said.
Sure, this upcoming election may be a tough one but it is now up to the citizens of the United States to choose their next leader of the free world.
“If you have the ability to vote, you should get out there and do it because it is our right and it’s really important to get your word out there.” Johnson said.
