Bowie senior, Jackson Heath, talks about his experience of voting during the 2020 Presidential Election.

How was the voting process for you?

It wasn’t really that bad. It was quick and to the point, but registration was awful. I went to the middle school by my house earlier in the day.

Was the process different from what you expected? Did you think certain things would happen that didn’t, or vise versa?

When I got there, I wasn’t expecting so many things I had to vote on. I knew I had to vote on some things but I didn’t know I had to vote on local stuff, so that was unexpected.

How did you feel about the long voting process?

 I’m a patient person, I was waiting there but it didn’t feel awfully long. I didn’t feel annoyed, I was just happy to be able to go and vote, and have my voice be heard. 

Do you think the election judges did their jobs properly in helping with the voting process?

Jackson: I think so, yeah. It wasn’t like a whole thing, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any point. I was kinda worried with the whole Trump thing, that people would be watching me vote, but everything was calm and chill. 

Did you see any poll watching?

No, I didn’t see any of that, or maybe I didn’t notice. I was kinda in this tunnel like “oh my god I’m about to vote what do I do”, so I didn’t notice any of that.

Was there any rioting outside or did you have any feeling of fear or danger while you were voting?

No. I mean there was like an old white lady arguing with someone over a parking spot, but that was about as much violence as there was. There was nothing really going on.

Do you think the current voting process is effective considering the controversy between this year’s election and while dealing with COVID-19?

I don’t know, I think it’s effective and I think everyone’s vote should be heard despite what their fears are about corona. I’m not against mail in ballots, I think you should feel safe and have a right to be heard. At the same time, I feel like my vote is invalid with the electoral college. I felt like “does it really matter?” about my vote when I know there’s someone higher who makes a choice that could be over mine.