As the Nov. 5 election approaches, many Edina High School students are turning 18 and eagerly registering to vote, ensuring their votes count and voices are heard.
Senior Inga Kunze-Williams turned 18 in June but has already voted—in person—in both the primary and general elections for the presidential race. Kunze-Williams has been extremely involved in politics her whole life. “Growing up, I was very involved with watching the news and paying attention to politics on social media, so I’ve always been excited to share my voice and vote with policies and politicians that I feel strongly about,” she said.
Kunze-Williams intends to vote in both future local and national elections as much as she can. “I feel really strongly about how if you’re an American, you’re supposed to vote. That’s what democracy is all about,” she said.
Senior Reagan Greeley turned 18 more recently, in September, but registered to vote as soon as she could. For Greeley, turning 18 was very important to her because she had been thinking about voting for the past few years, so she has become an active engager in politics and news. “Once the talk of the election started up again, that made me pay more attention to everything and take everything with more in-depth thought,” Greeley said.
Having the opportunity to vote is immensely important to Greeley because she can share her perspective and voice. “I think it’s really important that the younger generations have a say, and being able to use my voice and my perspective is really powerful because we see things in a different way, maybe than our parents or elders do. So I think it’s good to have younger generations such as high schoolers or college kids who can vote and make a difference as well,” she said.
On the contrary, senior Griffin Dressen has been 18 since last January and doesn’t intend to vote in any local elections. However, Dressen has always planned to vote in national elections and intends to do so in the future. “It is more special to me [to vote] in a national election because it has a bigger impact,” Dressen said.
Overall, EHS seniors are motivated and ready to hit the polls on Nov. 5 for the presidential and local election items. “If anyone is feeling a little uneasy about voting and whether their vote really matters, think about if one candidate lost by one vote and you didn’t vote. How would you feel?” Kunze-Williams said.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on November 4, 2024
