Who has your vote in 2012?
By Joel Gregory & John Hampton | Collaborative Reporters
Every four years, Americans choose the fate of the country by selecting a leader who will have a large impact on the way they live. Citizens who are 18 or older take part in electing the President of the United States. Though many are not yet of voting age, some MHS students see the importance of politics and the impact they will have on their lives.
In a survey of 177 students conducted by The Marshfield Times, students shared their political view, how they thought the government was doing, and even named the candidate they would vote for if given the opportunity. Among those to express their opinion was senior Aly Welch.
“I think it [government] is necessary, but it shouldn’t control everything,” Welch said.
The general opinion of those who took the survey showed 62% of students believe the current American government in place is not doing a good job. Twenty-seven percent felt favorably toward the government, while 11 percent were indifferent on the subject. Some students, such as senior Jordan Lofton, are opposed to all forms of government.
“I’m opposed to all governments because they are corrupt,” Lofton said.
Lofton, who is a self- proclaimed anarchist, believes government should be abolished and did not want to participate in the presidential candidate portion of the survey. However, Welch believes that Mitt Romney would be better suited for the position.
“He is a business man, so he understands the economy,” Welch said.
Barack Obama gathered the most of any other candidate, receiving 46 percent of the votes, while Romney obtained 27 percent. Ron Paul was next, finishing with 10 percent of the votes, and Gary Johnson rounded out the voting with 1 percent of the total vote. Not all students chose to vote, with 16 percent not selecting a candidate. According to CNN, as of October 19th, 47 percent of likely voters support Obama, 48 percent support Romney and the other 2 percent support other candidates. Although most voters sided with Obama or Romney, senior Amy Jackson believes Ron Paul would be the best man for the job.
“He is honest and his ideas go along the lines of the founding fathers,” Jackson said.
Jackson classified herself as a conservative, along with 14 percent of the students surveyed. However, 62 of those polled did not identify themselves in a political party. The independent party gathered the next highest amount with 12 percent and the liberal party finished out the poll with 9 percent of the vote. Freshman Ben Cardoza simply believes there should be equality between the parties.
“I think there should be an equal amount of Democrats and Republicans in Congress,” Cardoza said.
With each person entitled to their opinion, there will always be struggle. Beliefs may differ, but according to Lofton, the common goal in society is to make the world a better place.
“The people need to unite together,” Lofton said. “I want to see peace and justice in the world.”
