On November 6, 2018 many Park High students were able to vote for the first time in their lives. Though most of them were eager to vote, they all had a different reason why.

Sonia Borneman, a senior at Park High, said, “I wanted to vote to keep the wrong people from being elected,” while others like Alexis Tinsely voted because they wanted to vote since they were younger, because their parents always voted.

Tinsely said “when I was younger, I always believed voting was a privilege. Now that I am 18, I was excited to vote.”

Though most of these students were excited to vote, others like Nathan Strickland just voted because he could.   

Many students and community member believe that students should vote. Jonathan Noble said, “it is important for students to vote because they must learn to put their voice out, because we are the future.”

If people don’t vote, the officials that are elected don’t accurately represent the public’s opinion. Park county this year made up only two percent of the total votes in Montana. Out of the population of Park county that are registered voters, 78 percent voted during the midterm election.  

The students that voted this year were encouraged to vote by many people, including Teacher Bryan Beitel, their parents, friends, family, and for some political reasons.  All the students that voted said they were proud to have participated in the process.

Noble said, “I encourage others to vote because, I think if everyone voted that did not, it would make an impact on the election.”