Students in Ohio Northern University's Campaign and Elections class get to see the science behind the election that is unfolding right in front of us.
2020 has brought us all a lot of “firsts”. Maybe it was your first time working from home, or your kids first time learning from home. This is definitely the first presidential election we’ll be going through during a pandemic, and for one generation out there, this will also be their first time they’ll be able to cast their ballot.
Michaela Smith, a senior at Ohio Northern in the Campaign and Elections class says, “Especially in this past year with everything going on, I feel like my generation will really feel like we need to be heard and we need to have a say in what’s going on.”
Smith hopes her peers are moved to go out and vote, and has been saddened to see the country so largely split-up because of the election.
“Everyone being so split and so polarized, it’s disappointing,” says Smith.
She’s not the only first time voter that longs for unity within the county.
Cassidy Deckling, a junior in the class and also political science major says, “Now I think there’s a bit more polarization and less of that feeling of unity and America and I feel that this election is just going to be really big for our generation.”
Both say that social media and the mass information available to them plays a big role in how invested their generation is with this election.
Smith says, “We’re on social media all the time, we’re seeing this firsthand, both candidates are on social media, so I really think we feel like we’re in the election more than other generations probably have.”
Historically, young, often newly eligible voters have not been showing up in significant numbers for past elections. But for the students at Ohio Northern, they’re hoping to change that fact.
