“A meaningful experience for me”: Chapman students cast their ballots with significant reservations

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As the polls enter their final hours across the United States, the outcome of the 2024 election still remains to be seen.

In addition to a swath of races down the ballot, the Presidential election will see Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris square off against former Republican President Donald Trump in one of the closest Presidential races in modern history.

While the focus of the nation is centered on a handful of wing states, especially the Rust Belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa, the millions of ballots cast in states considered solidly partisan still should not be overlooked.

“I think for our generation this may be the most important election,” said sophomore broadcast journalism and documentary major Adam McDonnell, who is voting for the first time. “We are at the age where we will be moving out and living in a world on our own. Meaning whoever is in office will play a huge part in how our country will be standing as we pursue this journey.”

It’s no secret that the youth vote will play a key role in the outcome of the election at both local and national levels. The 2022 midterms saw Democrats dampen a predicted Republican red wave in Congress after the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court case. During those midterms, voters between the ages of 18 to 29 managed to have a large impact in a variety of local elections. Whether that will occur again in this cycle has yet to be determined.

While it has been over two years since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, abortion rights are still considered one of the biggest factors determining how people will cast their vote at the polls. 

“For me, some of the most important issues in this election are centered around protecting my rights as a woman, particularly in terms of healthcare and autonomy,” said Sofia Yungs, a sophomore journalism and documentary major.

Abortion rights aren’t the only factor swaying more voters towards Harris. In a recent Trump rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, a speaker called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” which has elicited a heavy degree of backlash from Puerto Rican voters all across the U.S.

“The first rule of politics is: follow the passion, and the passion seems to be with the Harris campaign,” said associate professor of political science Fred Smoller. “The abortion issue and the (Madison Square Garden) “pile of garbage” remarks seem to have propelled participation.”

It’s a safe bet to call the 2024 elections one of the most intense and partisan elections in US history. The campaign has been fraught with misinformation and voter intimidation, as well as several assassination attempts. As a whole, it’s left a bad taste in the mouths of many members of the electorate, especially first-time voters.

“Going into this election, I feel a mix of disappointment and apprehension,” said Youngs. “I had hoped my first vote would feel empowering and that I would have a candidate I could support wholeheartedly. Instead, I’m left feeling conflicted and even somewhat disillusioned.”

A notable shortfall in Harris’ campaign has been an unwillingness to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite the constant presence of protestors at rallies hosted in support of Harris, the candidate has offered little outside of claiming that Israel has a right to defend itself. It’s just one factor that has tampered excitement around her candidacy, and contributed to an extremely divisive voting environment where some members of the electorate feel forced to choose between two unrepresentative candidates.

“I feel there isn’t enough compromise with the American people,” added McDonnell. “I believe that both candidates are fighting for their side’s views only. The stereotypical beliefs of each party are very opposite from one another, and I feel whoever gets nominated should be willing to make amends for all Americans.”

A big worry shared by a variety of pundits is a repeat of the election denialism that Trump and his supporters shared in the aftermath of the 2020 election, all eventually culminating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building by a mob of Trump supporters in an attempt to prevent the certification of the Electoral College.

Even now, the groundwork for denying a potential Harris victory in 2024 appears to already be in place, from dodgy theories made by Trump supporters all the way up to the former President himself, who claimed that Democrats were cheating in elections and jailing those who said so.

It should also be noted that Trump was recently indicted in both Washington, D.C. and Georgia for his attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 elections.

“If Mr. Trump wins, the election was free and fair. If Harris wins, it was rigged,” said Smoller of how the Trump campaign’s approach to the elections. 

If you are an Orange County voter, you can find voting center locations and hours on the Orange County Registrar of Voters website.