Harris, Trump, No Vote or Other?

Students explain their preferences

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Election Day, 344 Minnehaha Academy Upper School students voted in an all-school election. Results were reported in brief the same afternoon, with details reported in The Talon newspaper and on Redhawksonline. Here, we’re posting a long list of responses to the exit poll question, “Why did you choose….?” Responses were made anonymously via Google Forms along with the student’s vote.

Why did you choose Kamala Harris? (62.8%)

Vice President Kamala Harris takes her official portrait Thursday, March 4, 2021, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) Whitehouse.gov

• Trump has many felony charges and wants the U.S to become a dictatorship. Trump also wants to lower taxes for the rich. I feel like they are both not great candidates, but Kamala is a little better.
• The better of the candidates. Cares about rights and civil peace.
• I voted for Harris because I don’t want to lose my rights. I want the ability to go to college, I want to have a say in what happens to my body, I want people to love who they want to love, I don’t want taxes to increase, and i don’t want a convicted felon with way too much power ruining our country.
• She is Black.
• Their policies align with my values.
• I think it would be good for a woman of color to be president. She seems level-headed.
• I value democracy and my rights.
• I voted for Harris because she states that she will advocate for middle class families and make things affordable. She also states that she will make way for women’s rights.
• Because if felons aren’t able to vote, they should not be able to run for president. Also I do not agree with the values of JD Vance.
• I am terrified of what would happen if Trump wins. And I would love a woman as president.
• I don’t want to lose my already lesser rights.
• I believe that Kamala Harris is a lot more truthful than Trump, and I believe that she has more of a hopeful vision for the future of the U.S..
• I’m trans. I’m queer. If Trump is elected, queer marriage rights will be terminated, and it will be outlawed for me to get top or bottom surgery or a legal name change. Trump being reelected will make it illegal for me to be who I am for at least another four years.
• My parents like her.

Why did you choose Donald Trump? (27.3%)

• We know what Trump has in store for us. He has been president before and he will lower taxes.
• I voted for Trump/Vance because Trump is better qualified to run the country which has been proven when he was the president. Trump also is a Christian and will protect not only religious rights and all of our constitutional rights unlike Kamala.
• I voted for Trump/Vance because I would like to see more secure borders, lower taxes, a better economy, no boys in girls sports, tougher on crime, and more support of law enforcement.
• I was influenced by mu parent.
• Real women vote for Trump.
• I voted for Trump because he and Kamala are not great candidates however JD Vance would be a much better president than Tim Walz.
• Because Kamala is just terrible.
• I voted for Trump due to his tax policies, as well as his stance on abortion. Along with this I believe that as a nation we need someone with a backbone.
• Make America great again.
• Because Trump has his head screwed on straight. Kamala is stupid and should not be in office. Trump will help us secure our border and will be better for our economy.
• Because he said he will try his best to bring peace in the Middle East which Joe Biden failed to do.

• 

  Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead) Library of Congress.

Why did you choose No Vote? (6.4%)

• Even though I am a conservative and come from a conservative family, I don’t believe Trump is a good person. He has said a lot of questionable stuff and I strongly hate his resentment for immigrants.
• I think Trump is very clear on the policies he plans to enforce and changes he wants to make, but I don’t agree with all of them. I think Harris has some solid ideas but hasn’t been too clear how she will make changes that show those values. I don’t know enough about the other candidates to vote for them.
• I don’t have enough background knowledge of both topics/parties to vote confidently.
• I don’t care. I don’t like politics and I’ve had friendships destroyed by it. When politics are brought up I get really anxious and I try to avoid it.
• I don’t like the current state of American politics and I don’t like either of the candidates. I personally would prefer a president who unifies instead of dividing the country.
• I haven’t been paying enough attention to the campaigns to make an educated vote.
• I chose no vote because I don’t know who I’d pick honestly. It feels like politics have become so polarizing that it’s either one side or another. I stand for some of each party’s values but I don’t agree with all their values.
• I did not do research on them.

Why did you choose Other? (3.5%)

• Both candidates and their positions left me conflicted, they both have flaws in my eyes that hinder my choice to lean towards one or the other. I agree more with some of Trump’s beliefs and policies, but I believe he is untrustworthy and takes things to the extreme. For Kamala, I’m not even 100% [sure] what she stands for and what major changes she would work towards other than trying to build up her political image.
• I voted “other” because I don’t agree with either [candidate’s] policies, and I think we should have a third party.
• Neither of the candidates are good options; one is a felon, who lies and cheats, the other doesn’t know what she’s doing, and has no goals to improve the country.
• We need more options than just the two. Neither are good. Harris is too vague for me to feel confident in voting in her. I have little to no idea on what she would do in office. She’s said things in the past that she’s going against now, it feels like she will just say stuff she deems necessary to get elected. I feel Trump is a bit too “crazy” (for lack of a better word) in a negative way. The stuff he claims at rallies is too crazy for me to believe in him for the presidency. I also feel for foreign relations if he were elected. He’s said some stuff about NATO that I don’t think would be a stable idea. If Hillary Clinton was running I would probably vote for her.
• Trump is too old and isn’t a good person, Kamala doesn’t have enough experience to be a good president.