Teenagers’ political opinions matter but are mostly overlooked or ignored as they can’t legally vote in government elections.
While teens may not be able to change anything on a political scale, their opinions should still be acknowledged as their views because they’re the next generation of voters and can be more easily influenced by social media.
Luckily, the California government realized that it is important to recognize the views of young people and created a mock election form that students around California can fill out.
This form allows students to freely express their political opinions anonymously and educate themselves on the candidates running for certain positions. Additionally, students can see what propositions are on the ballot and details about the people for and against each measure.
Giving teens the opportunity to learn about these aspects and vote for them gives them the chance to discover, or alter, their political views and lets them know what they would personally want passed or implemented in their lives. After learning, or confirming their true political beliefs, teens are able to confidently express them and vote for them in the mock vote.
The mock vote also exposes students around California to the voting process. This exposure allows students to get comfortable and possibly excited about voting when they are legally allowed to.
The comfort can come from being exposed to the mock vote prior to any actual elections. So when the students are old enough to vote, they can be confident and less stressed during the process as they have experienced it before.
Excitement can follow for some students after, during, or even before the mock vote.
This excitement can come from students who are glad to have their political opinions recognized finally, realizing their votes will push their opinions and sway the polls, seeing the opinions of other students around California and a plethora of other reasons.
The election as of Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, has 71,098 total ballots cast throughout the schools of California.
For the results, Harris-Walz are leading the presidential and vice presidential vote with 33,397 votes while taking 48.69 percent of all the votes. Following is Trump-Vance gaining 24,174 of the total votes or 35.24 percent.
For the election for the governor of California, the race is between Steve Garvey, holding more Conservative values, and Adam B. Schiff, relating closer to Democratic values. Schiff is leading both the full, and partial terms garnering 32,778 votes or 53.45 percent of the total votes for the full term, along with 32,486 votes or 55.74 percent for the partial term.
Finally, covering the proposition, the students of California voted “Yes” for propositions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 32, 33, 34, 35 and proposition 36, meaning that California students agree with every single proposition proposed.
Out of all the propositions the closest battle was proposition 6. The California government states that this proposition “Eliminates constitutional provision allowing involuntary servitude for incarcerated persons. Legislative constitutional amendment.” This was the most split vote with 59,033 votes in total, and 31,593 or 52.64 percent “Yes” votes.
Out of the 10 Propositions, only three of them were split in the 50 and 40 percent range while all the others were voted “Yes” with 65 percent or higher. This created a large margin and clearly showed California’s student opinions.
The California student mock vote is a wonderful thing that can help teens express their political opinions, learn more about the democratic process, feel comfortable, get excited, and be confident when it comes to politics and elections.
This election also allowed the world of politics to have a glimpse of the next generation of voters and the opinions of teenagers. So having this vote allows California to see what the future holds in politics.
