Q&A With Bard Students: Why Vote?

The 2023 General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 7. We asked 10 Bard students why they believe it is important to vote. For more information about who and what are on the ballot this year, click here.

By Smriddhi Nair ’26

Q: Why do you think it's important to vote?

A: “It’s extremely important to vote because the people in office cater to communities that vote. When you don’t vote, you don’t have equal representation in Congress, and even in the presidency, and even in your local communities. Local politics are more important than federal politics, because local politics affect your every day. When you don’t vote, you just leave it to the hands of other people.”
—Rodney Bailey ’24

A: “It just is. It’s so that we have good people running the (stuff) that we care about.”
—Carladrian Lawson ’26

A: “I think it’s important for young people to engage with the political realm, and because it essentially determines their future, policies which affect them, and ways they could mobilize within these social and political realms themselves.”
—Rudy Sutton ’26 

A: “I think it’s important to vote because your voice matters to enact change in the world.”
—Danielle Dean ’24

A: “I think it’s important to vote, to, you know, help decide policies and things that affect us as people in America.”
—Jonathan Asiedu ’24

A: “We don’t have this political system in our country. Therefore, I never voted before. I don’t have a clear idea on the importance of voting. But maybe it’s important because voting gives us power to decide who leads our countries.” 
—Li Jia ’24

A: “Voting is the primary tool to affect the world around us and make the world better with almost zero effort.”
—Anderson Fletcher ’25

A: “Well, because it is your right and this is the way to change the community and to choose your leader.”
—Maksym Panchokha ’27

A: “I’m African American, so a lot of the time we felt like our vote doesn’t count because history has told us that we are three fifths of a person and that our vote won’t move mountains. But through Trump’s presidency and after, voting showed that everyone does count. It does matter that you show up. It does matter that you are able to have that accessibility. When you vote, change happens.”
—Angel Johnson ’24 

A: “It’s important to have a say in what you want your future to look like, and how you want your future to run. Voting means you have a voice. Don’t silence yourself."
—Jaelyn Quilizapa ’25

Post Date: 11-03-2023