On Nov. 5, 2024, seniors at Middleton High School (MHS) who had reached eighteen arrived at polling stations, ready to exercise their constitutional right to vote. What did these voters feel when they cast their ballots? Hopeful? Worried? Scared? The emotions and thoughts of MHS student voters as they participated in the 2024 elections reveal what it meant to them as they cast their first ballots.

The Driving Forces Behind MHS Voter Turnout

The reasons that people vote are as diverse as the voters themselves. However, at MHS, the driving force convincing students to vote seems to be civic duty. 

Hannah Machleidt, a senior at MHS, says that she feels that “it’s my responsibility as an American citizen to engage with my community. Voting is one of the most basic forms of civic engagement and I believe that it has a significant influence on how our society is structured.” 

This sentiment is shared by Nina Chan, another senior, who says she had “a desire to participate in the government and democracy, in hopes of protecting my rights and those of vulnerable groups.” 

Other students were driven by a similar train of thought. As one senior at MHS said, “I feel as though it is my responsibility to vote and have an impact on the political landscape around me.” 

In addition to this motivation, students also highlighted their want to make their voices heard.

“I also have my own personal opinions on how our (both local and national) community should look like, and I believe that voting for a candidate that represents those opinions is incredibly important,” Machleidt said. 

These opinions were another driving force that led her to vote. 

“I’m very invested in political science and overall public policy… and from my experiences in those fields I have learned about how essential it is to vote,” she said.

Another anonymous senior at MHS adds on to this sentiment, expressing their motivations to vote as stemming from their “ personal beliefs and wishes for my life and the future of this country.” 

Chan also elaborated on what made her want to vote when she said, “I always knew I would vote when I had the opportunity to, because I care about the people of this country and I care about trying to create change in a flawed system.” 

Not all students voted because of personal opinions, though; there were also seniors that voted because of outside influences.

Senior Sophia Heil credits her parents as part of her reason for voting. She mentioned her mom, who went with her to the polls, and her dad, who helped her with research. Owen Luedtke, a student at MHS, responded similarly, saying, “My parents encouraged me to vote.”

Emotions While Voting

The student voters at MHS all felt varying emotions stepping into the voting booths and filling out a ballot for the first time. Some students felt a sense of pride and excitement, while other students were indifferent.

“I feel like I’m helping the country move forward,” Luedtke shared. 

Similarly, Chan said, “I had a realization that I am, really and truly, a citizen and that my opinion really does matter and that I have the opportunity to advocate for the change and policies I believe in in the government at all levels.”

 “I went early in the morning so I was a bit sleepy but I was also excited to be able to go vote with my mom,” Machledit said. 

Heil shared her emotions as well, detailing her experience, “I was excited, I was so nervous when I was filling in the ballot that I wrote the town where my name was supposed to be.” 

However, not all students shared this air of enthusiasm.

“[I felt] neutral,” an anonymous senior said. “In the grand scheme of things, I know one singular vote isn’t going to make or break anything. Thousands of votes will be the difference.”

Research

Being well educated about candidates is an important part of voting. Looking back on the days before the election, student voters reflected on the research they did to prepare to vote.

“I previewed my ballot on the website that lets you look at what’s on your ballot ahead of time, and I researched the candidates I didn’t know about,” said Chan, who listened to the presidential debates and read various candidates’ policy agendas as well. 

Heil also watched the debate and “did research on specific policies like economics and college debt relief.” 

Machleidt says that she “read about each candidate’s economic plan on their pages in addition to casual viewing of information on social media … [and] also was kept updated through news outlets and watching the presidential debate.”

Some students focused more on candidates that aligned with their views. An anonymous senior states that they researched by “deep diving on the policies I find important and then finding the political candidate that I feel best represents all of those beliefs.” 

Researching the candidates and making educated decisions is vital to upholding the government and protecting democracy.

Advice to Prospective Voters

While the next presidential election will not occur again until 2028, many first time voters had advice for future voters in local, state and national elections that will make a difference in their lives.

“Please vote in any way you can,” Machleidt said. “Do your research on each candidate so you know what and who you are voting for. Also don’t just focus on the big (presidential) elections but also on your more local elections as well since they can have a big impact on your community!” 

Heil backs this statement by imploring people to “do your research and make sure you think about what kind of future you want.”

Research is not the only important thing to do before an election, though. An anonymous student voter asked future voters to “form your own opinions,” and not to be influenced by unofficial news sources. Chan requests prospective voters to create change.

“If you don’t at least try to create change, you can’t complain when things don’t go your way. Posting a story on instagram is not actually trying to create change; it does nothing” Chan said. “Political action such as canvassing, voting, sitting in at city council meetings, and writing petitions is a way to actually try and create change. Direct action, such as physically protesting, feeding members of the community, creating community gardens, donating to charities and directly to people who need help, is also creating change.”