Election day is a day where people across the country, no matter their race, religion, or gender, are heard. This year’s presidential election had an unprecedented amount of registered voters. The importance of voting has been strongly advertised across all social media platforms for the past few months. There are many different opinions on the importance of this year’s election.

“I don’t think this year’s election is more important because many people say that about every election,” sophomore Vann Rose said. “Trump supports things which are normal for republicans, nothing extreme, and vice versa for Biden.”

Although most students at Gibson Southern cannot vote yet, it is important to understand the importance of voting and having your voice heard. Most high schoolers will be able to vote in the 2024 election and have an opportunity to make a difference and better this country, so understanding what our country needs, and what changes need to be made is important to our future. 

“It’s important to know what’s going on in the world around you, even if you can’t vote,” senior Amelia Kissel said.

Mail in ballots have been a major controversy for the upcoming election. With the pandemic going on, many people don’t feel comfortable getting around large crowds to vote, or they aren’t healthy enough to go vote in person on election day. Mail in ballots are a way for everyone to be able to get involved.

“We all know there can be mistakes made, either the ballots aren’t sent in at the correct time, or they could get lost,” junior Abby Scheller said. “I know many people due to covid aren’t comfortable going out to vote, but I think it is a majority of how votes are this year.”

There is a lot of uncertainty in mailing in your ballot. You have to fill it out correctly, or it won’t be counted, and your vote relies on the postal service and their ability to deliver the ballot to the correct location. A study conducted by MIT after the 2016 election found that about 4% of mail in ballots were not counted because of mistakes. 

“They could possibly cause problems with the election… by being lost in transit,” junior Josh Rumble said.

Although absentee ballots can be precarious, it is still important that you exercise your constitutional right to vote.