Are Bennington Students Voting This November?

Last week I spoke to students from across the country about the upcoming election. Of the people I talked to, twice as many were not voting in their local elections as those who were. Many of the students who were not voting expressed that they wished they were, but in the midst of school, had forgotten to request a mail-in ballot. 

Key races are taking place across the country on November 4. This includes the gubernatorial elections happening in New Jersey, where Democratic candidates are trying to keep their seats, and Virginia, where they are attempting to flip the governorship. New York City and Minneapolis are both hosting mayoral races that feature young democratic socialists—Zohran Mamdani and Omar Fateh, respectively—who are running against more experienced politicians Andrew Cuomo and Jacob Frey. Additionally, the most prominent ballot measure being voted on this election is California’s Proposition 50, which if passed would redraw the state’s congressional districts to add more democratic seats, and in doing so, reverse Texas’s GOP-biased redistricting effort.

Maisy, a senior from Los Angeles, said she hopes the proposition passes. However, she shared that she knows a lot of people who are voting for it because they feel that they have to, not that they really want to. Ruby, a sophomore from New York City, told me they had voted for Mamdani, citing his commitment to making the city more affordable.

I also talked to a freshman student from Pennsylvania who voted in support of three Supreme Court justices that are up for reelection in the state. Their victories would secure a liberal majority on the court. Finally, I spoke to Brayden, a senior from Maine, who voted against a ballot measure that would institute a number of new voting restrictions, especially when it comes to mail-in voting. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. “There’s no credible proof…that there are any problems with absentee or mail-in voting.”