According to NPR (National Public Radio), the turnout of young voters in the 2022 election was the second highest in a midterm in the past 30 years.

Now that this year’s midterm election is over, Cottonwood students are eager to share their thoughts on the importance of voting and how the societal issues that they are interested in will affect the future of their state. 

To help students understand the seriousness of voting,  Janae Hirschi, the US government and citizenship teacher. shared her thoughts. 

  She said,  “I think it is extremely important to vote because you got to be able to voice your opinion on who you would like to see as your representative on the local, state, and international level;  it’s also a way for you to voice your opinion on different political issues and steer the country in the direction you prefer to see it going.” 

Bella Bloss, a junior, identified an issue that she is following. 

 “I’m interested to know how the [Supreme Court’s] overturn of Roe V. Wade is going to affect Utah, and whether or not they’re going to put a ban on abortions or push back and keep abortions legal,” she said. “It’s important to vote in local elections because democracy is really important and I firmly believe that your vote helps because there’s really not a good separation of state and religion, and I think that if people vote, we can {kind of} get rid of that.”

Bloss said that in 2024 she hopes to volunteer to encourage others to vote in the election. 

Hannah Sheikh, a senior, commented on the number of relevant issues in the news.

“I am interested in many societal issues. I don’t necessarily closely follow any particular one though. I try to broadly understand what is going on in the world but I’m a little too busy to do a deep dive into any one topic,” she said.

Sheikh said, “I feel it is very important to vote; elections in a non-swing state can be seen as less important,  but local elections are extremely important. Local officials are going to make decisions that directly impact your life so it is very important that you vote for the person you want making those wise decisions.”