The Omniscient recently sent a survey out to the students at Northwood to get their opinions on the 2020 ballot. Although Northwood’s student population exceeds 1,400, the fifty two students who took the time to respond to our questions had a lot to say!
What was on the ballot?
Who did students support?
Overview
What was on the ballot?
The positions:
There were eight different positions featured on the ballot, including US President, US Senate, NC Governor, NC Lieutenant Governor, NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, NC Supreme Court Chief Justice-Seat 1, NC State Senate District 23 and NC House of Representatives District 54.
The candidates:
US President- Joe Biden, Donald Trump or third party
US Senate- Cal Cunningham, Thom Tillis or third party
NC Governor- Roy Cooper, Dan Forest or third party
NC Lieutenant Governor- Yvonne Lewis Holley or Mark Robinson
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction- Jen Mangrum or Catherine Truitt
NC Supreme Court Chief Justice-Seat 1- Cheri Beasley or Paul Newby
NC State Senate District 23- Valerie P. Foushee or Tom Glendinning
NC House of Representatives District 54- Robert T. Reives II or George T. Gilson Jr.
Who did students support?
The majority of the students who responded to the survey voted for the Democratic candidates, whether they identified as Democrats themselves or not.
“I tend to point more Democratic because my views align more with the views of the Democratic Party,” a student said. “I’m registered to vote Independent, so that I have the chance to research and choose for myself. I don’t really like the party system and wish we could just have a pool of people without parties where everyone chooses who they like the best based on views.”
Although more survey responders said they tended to lean Democratic, there were 12 who said they leaned more Republican.
“I am registered to vote Republican,” another student replied. “This is because Republican policies are practical, give more power to the individual, and reach a wider spectrum of people in all stages of life as opposed to the Democratic policies.”
Of the two candidates for US President, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, most of the survey responders preferred Joe Biden. Many believe Biden has better policies and is more honest than his opponent.
“Joe Biden’s website has more information about what he plans to do as president while Trump’s website is not very informational in comparison,” freshman Alison Burger said. “Biden has over 50 plans for this nation while Trump has 14.”
Those who supported Biden also believe that Biden is looking to inspire important change in the country.
“Joe Biden is not a perfect candidate by any means, but unlike Donald Trump, he understands the importance of taking real measures to combat climate change, racial injustice, COVID-19, and other important issues,” one student wrote. “We need to vote Donald Trump out of office if we want to begin to combat these issues.”
Other responders stated that Trump would be a better president for 2020 because of his decisions in the past four years as well as his economic success.
“Donald Trump has done a great job with the economy and securing peace deals in the Middle East,” sophomore Brandt Anderson said. “Joe Biden was in Washington for 47 years and spent that time writing the 1994 crime bill which imprisoned many young minorities for long periods of time for simple drug possession.”
Students who chose Trump were also pleased with his stats while in office.
“I think that Trump would do the best for our country overall,” a student said. “Over the past 4 years he has made unemployment rates drop and helped our economy.”
For North Carolina, the two elections that student responders had the most to say about were the races for US Senate and NC Governor.
In the US Senate race between Cal Cunningham and Thom Tillis, Cunningham took the lead as the survey responders’ preferred candidate. Most of the responders supported this candidate because they disagreed with his opponent.
“I’ve heard too much about Thom Tillis taking 500 million dollars from schools,” Alison Burger said. “As a student, Cal Cunningham is a more promising Senator for school systems.”
On the other end, some students favoring Tillis were swayed after Cunningham’s scandal.
“The scandal with the other party made me feel uncomfortable voting for that candidate,” one student said.
Regarding the NC Governor’s race between incumbent Governor Roy Cooper and Dan Forest, more survey responders were in favor of Cooper. Students reported that Cooper’s representation and proven support for North Carolina citizens made him an attractive candidate. “Roy Cooper has shown that he cares about NC citizens, with executive orders prohibiting workplace discrimination to fighting to increase teachers’ pay,” freshman Lily McMahon said. “Roy Cooper made NC the first southern state to ban state funding to anti-LGBT groups and conversion therapy.”
However, Forest’s appeal to his student supporters are his policies about opening up from lockdown–schools reopening full time, discarding mask use, and letting people return to daily life the way it was before the pandemic.
“He [Forest] wants us back in school, and I support that,” an anonymous student said.
In the remaining five posts students were able to choose from, some admitted little knowledge about who these candidates were and what they believed in. Nevertheless, the Democratic candidates were the most popular among students surveyed for NC Lieutenant Governor, NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, NC Supreme Court Chief Justice, NC State Senate District 23 and NC House of Representatives District 54.
Overview
The students who preferred Democratic candidates mostly felt that equality of all people is an important issue that leaders need to prioritize, and some felt that climate change is also a pressing topic that needs to be addressed. The students who preferred Republican candidates tended to feel that preserving freedom should be of primary concern, while some cited the need to uphold citizens’ right to bear arms as permitted by the Second Amendment. While most students’ “voted” within their own registered or preferred party, some felt comfortable voting outside of their party.
