- David Rosenberger: âIâm registered as a Republican, but havenât voted Republican in years. I just never bothered changing my- I got tired of the do-nothing Congress and I never bothered changing parties.â Photo by Jackson Shrout
- Amy Donnelly: âThere was a line for the first time in my memory, but I think thatâs because it was the first time in my memory when it made a difference in New York State. Usually the candidate is decided before New York gets around to it. If the party in which you are enrolled has already picked its candidate, theyâve got the right number of delegates before New York comes up, then your vote does not count, so there was no reason to go to the polls.â Photo by Jackson Shrout
- Emily Chason: âIâd like to see the end of corporate funding when it comes to certain candidates. I donât think that that should be a legal thing. Iâm kind of shocked that it is [legal]. I keep waiting for someone to pass some sort of law saying itâs not, and itâs just not happening and itâs blowing my mind.â Photo by Sarah Gemmell
- Brandon Chacon: "This campaign has transformed America in the way we see our two-party system. I feel as though it exposed a lot of evil going on in the shadows in both the Democratic and the Republican Party. A lot of Democrats like to make it out as though the Republicans are very evil, but this election weâve seen that with Bernie Sanders they can be evil towards other Democratic candidates as well.â Photo by Isabelle Hayes
- Roger Spool: "I think this [election] has shown a side of America that has shocked the rest of the world. I know people from other countries and theyâre just beyond words in trying to understand what is happening here and how someone like Donald Trump can ever, ever get to the level of politics that he has. Having someone like him even get to this level of politics makes me ashamed to be an American.â Photo by Isabelle Hayes
- Rachel Lagodka: "I was very very disappointed that there wasnât more support for Bernie among more of the academic community and among the environmental individuals locally. There was some, but I feel like there could have been more, and I feel like the dialogue was shut down.â Photo by Dynahlee S. Padilla
- Lee Bell: âI donât feel like [my First Amendment right to freedom of speech] has been threatened. I think itâs been hyped up in a way at least for me. I do think itâs an issue for minority voters in districts in the south that are no longer under scrutiny. And not just the south. So in that sense yes, but as a white woman I donât think my voice has been silenced. I think itâs more the quality, the character of the people, the personâ [that influenced my decision to vote today].â Photo by Dynahlee S. Padilla
- Gerald Sorin: âI donât think we should have an electoral college, however I am happy we have it this time, because it gives the Democrats an advantage. I know thatâs a little strange to say--I donât like the institution, but I want it until at least this election.â Photo by Sarah Gemmell
- Kristen Trenary: âDown ticket people are more important to vote for because itâs where we end up seeing major change. We have to work from the ground up. I pretty much voted blue across the board. This is a very exciting election year, that I was sure to talk about and bring my kids along with me for. My grandmother was a suffragette, and I have a feeling her parents probably werenât the most thrilled about her being an activist. Sheâd be excited about today.â Photo By Katie Clayton
Students from Prof. Lisa Phillips’ Feature Writing class and Prof. Rachel Somerstein’s Journalism 1 class went to the polls to interview voters in the 2016 election. Here’s what voters had to say.