Tuesday, March 3, also known as “Super Tuesday,” marked the start of primary voting for North Carolina. West Henderson High School provided balloting areas for citizens and eligible students to exercise their political voices.
“It was really cool to be able to have a say in who is going to be the next person to lead our community, our state and our country,” senior Jenna Whealan said. “It felt like a really big responsibility and I’m glad that I could be a part of it for the first time. I think everyone should go out and vote if they are eligible because it is our civic duty and we should embrace that.”
Other students who didn’t vote at West said they still felt excited and happy to be able to cast a vote for the first time.
“It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be,” senior Aliya Shook said. “I went after soccer practice with my sister and we both voted. It was really fun because it was my first time voting, and my first real step into adulthood.”
Super Tuesday was originally scheduled as a half day for students in order to give them the rest of the day to vote, but it was rescheduled as a full school day after recent snow days.
“It didn’t really affect me because I went before school, but I know a few of my friends who weren’t able to vote because of after school events,” senior Gabe Brittain said. “I think they probably should have kept it as a half day to give those students with other responsibilities a chance to vote. The weather also kind of became an issue along with the full day because it was pretty rainy and I think that brought numbers down as well. I think people should treat voting as a priority because you don’t know what factors might affect someone’s chance to vote.”
Some citizens had mixed feelings on the county changing Super Tuesday to a full day, taking away the chance for students to vote the back half of the day.
“There are two problems,” citizen Scott Hill said. “One is (that) it would be nice to have the 18-year-olds’ votes, but then again, it is probably easier for the polling people to come and get their voting done. The hassle and crowds of going downtown to early vote make it less appealing.”
By: Lucas Kinsey, Feature Writer
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