Contributing reporters: Leah Bohling, Lauren Hall, Jasen Stovall, Soob Soobitsky, Justin Fredua-Agyeman, Kyle Dobrie
Presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be on the 2024 election ballot on November 5. Professor Dr. Nathan Shrader and first-year Politics major Sumana Anand sat down with The NewEnglander to discuss the state of the election, weeks before voters head to the polls.
“I think a lot is at stake for our democracy this year especially, so I think it’s important for people to be aware and be conscious of the issues that both candidates have and definitely vote in November,” Anand said.
Despite many advertisements and news stories, Shrader disagrees with the notion that this election is more important than any other and said that divisiveness is adding to the passion and polarization of the country.
“I’ve heard this every election since I was old enough to vote,” Shrader said. “The larger number of voters polarized on the far left or right, leaves less room in the middle, so there are more, louder voices on the far ends, and they’re the ones who I think are responsible for driving up the stakes,” Shrader said.
Shrader and Anand encourage people to educate themselves, to do research, and to have their own opinions.
“Look at non-partisan websites so that you can get a good understanding of what exactly is at stake, develop your own opinions instead of going to super polarized sites, like CNN and Fox,” Anand said.
AllSides, an organization that ranks political leanings in the news, publishes a Media Bias Chart that is designed to provide bias transparency for news consumers. Shrader and Anand both recommended The Hill and BBC News for non-partisan political news.
Shrader and Anand stressed the importance of taking part in the democratic process and said it’s important to attention beyond presidential elections.
“We see a lot of talk about the importance of voting during presidential election and congressional elections but it’s also really important to vote for your local officials as well, because those are the ones that really have an impact on you and those are the ones that are going to affect your day to day lives. Who’s on the school board, who’s running, who’s the head of your country, things like that. Voting isn’t necessarily just for the presidential election,” Anand said.
“Wherever you decide to vote whether it’s here or in New York or Virginia, there are going to be elections “down ballot” that are impactful for your own community in some way,” Shrader said. “Who’s elected as your state house member or state delegate or state rep? These people might actually be making more decisions that are like impacting you every day. So, I would want people to just make sure that thy look into who else is running, other than for president or governor,” Shrader said.
As residential college students in New Hampshire, anyone that is of age to vote and is a U.S. citizen can register and cast a ballot on November 5, the day of the election, according to the NH Secretary of State’s Office. Students that are not registered can do so at the polls on election day. They should be prepared to show a student and a legal ID. Students that wish to vote in their home state can either travel home on the day of the election or cast an absentee ballot following the laws of that state.
Voting will take place at the Henniker Community School, located at 51 Western Ave, Henniker, NH. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Anand said she has a call to action for her classmates and for all who are eligible to vote.
“Go do your civic duty. Go Vote. It’s really important. You’re choosing the leader of your country.”
