"We’ve heard all about what adults have to say on elections, from the news or from articles. But what about kids? What do they think?"--Maya Mastropasqua, 6th grade
Voting, elections, presidency: three things people talk about all the time, but especially recently, as Joe Biden was just elected the 46th president of the United States. We’ve heard all about what adults have to say on elections, from the news or from articles. But what about kids? What do they think?
Ayla Pakter Chavez, age 14, had some thoughts. When asked if she thought voting was important she said that, yes, because of our system, and if only a few people vote, that doesn’t represent all of us. In terms of how the election affected her, she said it didn’t really as she didn’t watch the election, but she was happy with the results.
Who the president is on the other hand, does affect her. Ayla said she is part of the LGBTQ community, so she would need a president who supports that. Furthermore, her mom is Latina, so she would need a president who isn’t racist.
Elections, like a lot of things, change from one moment to the next. For the 2016 election, Ayla said that she was very surprised, “I seriously lost a bit of hope in the country.” She realized that because of her age, there wasn’t much she could do to change anything.
But, things started to turn around in the 2020 election. “Then, because there was a huge voting turnout this year, I was like, yeah we can really get our stuff together as a country, and we come together to change what we want to change, so that was really nice to see,” she commented.
Many things are different between the last election and this one, and a big part of that is the increase in voter turnout. But why is that? In Ayla’s opinion it was because mailing ballots made it easier, and because she thinks more people realized how important it was and if they didn’t vote, they would have Trump for another 4 years.
When asked if she thought it would be a good idea to let kids vote too, she said that we have to let kids be kids, but since kids are so politically informed nowadays, we could maybe lower the age limit to 16. Although, she said it would be a good idea for kids to start gradually learning about politics to prepare them for when they can vote.
Ayla also said there were some ways for kids to help in the election doing things like, going to protests, signing petitions, but also spreading awareness, and learning what’s going on both in the world and in our cities.
After the president is elected, she thinks kids should still stay updated on politics. “I feel like it’s good to stay updated on what’s going on, in general,” she explained, noting that it is a privilege to say that you don’t care about politics, because there are people who depend on what laws are being passed, or not being passed. “Your voice is really important, and if you don’t know what’s going on, you can’t really use your voice.”
Kira Mastropasqua, age 6 also had some thoughts, but a little different. She thinks similarly to Ayla, that, yes, people should vote because if they don’t vote people don’t know who’s going to be the president. If an idea came up suggesting that kids would be able to vote, Kira wouldn’t support it, saying, “It’s a bad idea because some kids don’t know how to write.”
So even though she doesn’t think kids voting would be a very good idea, she does think they should still know what's going on in election, but not until they’re old enough, which she said would be 15. But, in her opinion, kids should start following the news about the president's decisions when they’re 8.
For Ella Kligman, age 12, like Ayla and Kira, voting is super important, explaining that you want your voice to be heard and you don’t want other people to control the election.
“The world affects you and the policies the president has affect you, even when you’re older,” she said on how the president affects her. From this election and the last she said that she wasn’t as informed in the 2016 election, so her feelings have become stronger.
As for why the election itself changed, she said there was a lot more at stake, so more people voted. Ella said she’s learned a lot about different policies presidents have in place, and things like that. She also thinks it wouldn’t be a bad idea to lower the age limit on voting, her suggestion being 12. She thinks kids' opinions matter just as adults do, saying, “Kids and adults, they think a little differently, kids have a new perspective on the world, and adults have been in society for longer, there are different perspectives to different points, and I think that’s really important.” But until you can vote, Ella thinks you should learn about voting to prepare you for when you’re 18, and can vote.
If Ella had more authority over what’s going on she said she would want to do more on climate change, and have some sort of system to help people get along better. In terms of what kids can do in the election she said doing voter calls and texting, just to name a few.
Zoe Mastropasqua, age 13, believes voting is really important because even if they weren’t the best candidates or the ones you want, you still have an input.
When asked how the president affected her, she said that generally the president affects your education, and what choices you make as an adult, because they could do something bad that would take a long time to clean up, or could make a law that could take a long time to get lifted.
“The president's actions, even if it’s like really small, they could take a really long time to change, because he’s a president of actions,” she said. Zoe remembers the last election, remarking how people were aggressive, and she was frustrated with the results. “If the pandemic hadn’t happened, Trump would’ve won, because people wouldn’t have seen what a terrible president he was. Because he blatantly lied, tried to cover it up, and then lied again.” Zoe said. In these last 4 years she went from frustrated to relieved.
Zoe thinks 10 would be a good age to vote, because that’s when she started learning more about what was going on in the world. Even though that’s not happening she does think kids should learn about politics. “The sooner you’re taught things, the more time you have to understand them,” she said.
When asked what she would do to help, Zoe explained that she would change the social construct for kids listening to adults, and how she would give kids more of a voice. She also explained how she thought education should be a given, and so should healthcare. Zoe also included how she thought we should pay more attention to the foster care system.
As for what kids could do to help in the election, she said there are a number of things, signing petitions, telling people verbally or posting something on social media.
Kids, in theory are the same as adults, and have their own thoughts and opinions like any adult would. The impact of elections on them is a little different, but not by much. Although they are younger, kids can still make a difference.
Ayla Pakter Chavez, age 14, had some thoughts. When asked if she thought voting was important she said that, yes, because of our system, and if only a few people vote, that doesn’t represent all of us. In terms of how the election affected her, she said it didn’t really as she didn’t watch the election, but she was happy with the results.
Who the president is on the other hand, does affect her. Ayla said she is part of the LGBTQ community, so she would need a president who supports that. Furthermore, her mom is Latina, so she would need a president who isn’t racist.
Elections, like a lot of things, change from one moment to the next. For the 2016 election, Ayla said that she was very surprised, “I seriously lost a bit of hope in the country.” She realized that because of her age, there wasn’t much she could do to change anything.
But, things started to turn around in the 2020 election. “Then, because there was a huge voting turnout this year, I was like, yeah we can really get our stuff together as a country, and we come together to change what we want to change, so that was really nice to see,” she commented.
Many things are different between the last election and this one, and a big part of that is the increase in voter turnout. But why is that? In Ayla’s opinion it was because mailing ballots made it easier, and because she thinks more people realized how important it was and if they didn’t vote, they would have Trump for another 4 years.
When asked if she thought it would be a good idea to let kids vote too, she said that we have to let kids be kids, but since kids are so politically informed nowadays, we could maybe lower the age limit to 16. Although, she said it would be a good idea for kids to start gradually learning about politics to prepare them for when they can vote.
Ayla also said there were some ways for kids to help in the election doing things like, going to protests, signing petitions, but also spreading awareness, and learning what’s going on both in the world and in our cities.
After the president is elected, she thinks kids should still stay updated on politics. “I feel like it’s good to stay updated on what’s going on, in general,” she explained, noting that it is a privilege to say that you don’t care about politics, because there are people who depend on what laws are being passed, or not being passed. “Your voice is really important, and if you don’t know what’s going on, you can’t really use your voice.”
Kira Mastropasqua, age 6 also had some thoughts, but a little different. She thinks similarly to Ayla, that, yes, people should vote because if they don’t vote people don’t know who’s going to be the president. If an idea came up suggesting that kids would be able to vote, Kira wouldn’t support it, saying, “It’s a bad idea because some kids don’t know how to write.”
So even though she doesn’t think kids voting would be a very good idea, she does think they should still know what's going on in election, but not until they’re old enough, which she said would be 15. But, in her opinion, kids should start following the news about the president's decisions when they’re 8.
For Ella Kligman, age 12, like Ayla and Kira, voting is super important, explaining that you want your voice to be heard and you don’t want other people to control the election.
“The world affects you and the policies the president has affect you, even when you’re older,” she said on how the president affects her. From this election and the last she said that she wasn’t as informed in the 2016 election, so her feelings have become stronger.
As for why the election itself changed, she said there was a lot more at stake, so more people voted. Ella said she’s learned a lot about different policies presidents have in place, and things like that. She also thinks it wouldn’t be a bad idea to lower the age limit on voting, her suggestion being 12. She thinks kids' opinions matter just as adults do, saying, “Kids and adults, they think a little differently, kids have a new perspective on the world, and adults have been in society for longer, there are different perspectives to different points, and I think that’s really important.” But until you can vote, Ella thinks you should learn about voting to prepare you for when you’re 18, and can vote.
If Ella had more authority over what’s going on she said she would want to do more on climate change, and have some sort of system to help people get along better. In terms of what kids can do in the election she said doing voter calls and texting, just to name a few.
Zoe Mastropasqua, age 13, believes voting is really important because even if they weren’t the best candidates or the ones you want, you still have an input.
When asked how the president affected her, she said that generally the president affects your education, and what choices you make as an adult, because they could do something bad that would take a long time to clean up, or could make a law that could take a long time to get lifted.
“The president's actions, even if it’s like really small, they could take a really long time to change, because he’s a president of actions,” she said. Zoe remembers the last election, remarking how people were aggressive, and she was frustrated with the results. “If the pandemic hadn’t happened, Trump would’ve won, because people wouldn’t have seen what a terrible president he was. Because he blatantly lied, tried to cover it up, and then lied again.” Zoe said. In these last 4 years she went from frustrated to relieved.
Zoe thinks 10 would be a good age to vote, because that’s when she started learning more about what was going on in the world. Even though that’s not happening she does think kids should learn about politics. “The sooner you’re taught things, the more time you have to understand them,” she said.
When asked what she would do to help, Zoe explained that she would change the social construct for kids listening to adults, and how she would give kids more of a voice. She also explained how she thought education should be a given, and so should healthcare. Zoe also included how she thought we should pay more attention to the foster care system.
As for what kids could do to help in the election, she said there are a number of things, signing petitions, telling people verbally or posting something on social media.
Kids, in theory are the same as adults, and have their own thoughts and opinions like any adult would. The impact of elections on them is a little different, but not by much. Although they are younger, kids can still make a difference.
