On Nov. 7, Texans voted on 14 new amendments to be added to the Texas Constitution. This was the first time some McCallum students participated in an election, and it brought many different emotions, including excitement and nervousness.

Growing up helping their grandma campaign for Obama in 2012 and watching the news almost every night, senior Teddy Ibsen was ready for the moment when they could vote. Along with voting for the first time this year, Ibsen helped out at the voting polls.

“I was a clerk, so I set up the voting place with around four other people, and I mainly checked people in to vote,” Ibsen said. “It was a great turnout and super fun atmosphere. I hadn’t had time to do it in past elections, but I know from here on out, I’m going to do it.”

Ibsen was just as thrilled to participate in the voting process themself.

“I can finally have my voice heard which is something that I’ve wanted for so long and was advocating for so long,” Ibsen said.

Economics and AP Human Geography teacher Joe Carcione emphasized to his students the importance of voting. To Carcione, there’s no election that doesn’t matter.

“It is always important for people to vote,” Carcione said. “I was just talking about this in my economics class the other day, and [AP Human Geography] too. We only have 40 to 50% of people voting. And if not everyone’s voting, the politicians do not have to address the needs of the population as a whole. They will just take care of the people that get them elected. If more people were voting, they would have to respond to it.”

Carcione said turnout might be low because voters feel discouraged by candidates’ platforms and actions.

“It does seem very dysfunctional when we have a senator wanting to fight on the Senate floor, and I think that discourages people from voting,” Carcione said. “I also think negative ads discourage people from voting. They just hear negative ads that this opponent is awful, this human’s awful, this person’s bad, and it just seems so ugly and negative.”

To help combat the stress or nervousness that comes with voting, Carcione sometimes shows PBS early voting videos where they talk about the candidates in class.

Looking toward the future, Carcione hopes that students at McCallum and worldwide realize the impact their vote can have.

“I just hope they embrace voting and realize it’s important,” Carcione said. “One vote matters because when everyone thinks their one vote matters, more people turn out to vote, and in effect, it does matter.”

Combining both the Austin Chronicle’s review of all the propositions and his parents’ printed information, senior Nick Colimon felt ready to vote. Even with all the information, he was still nervous walking up to the voting booth.

“I was nervous because I had no idea what to do,” Colimon said. “The scariest part was wondering if what I voted for was what I really supported. Like, did I understand everything enough? And then other than that, I was nervous that I would do something wrong and embarrass myself because there were a lot of steps: standing in line, giving all my information, voting, submitting the ballot and leaving.”

But the atmosphere in the polling room helped to quell Colimon’s nerves.

“Once I got to the polling room, it was a much more vibrant and active atmosphere,” Colimon said.

Senior Malena Linse had a similar experience with some of her nerves being settled by the election clerks.

“Since it was my first time voting, one of the poll workers helped me with the ballot process, but it was a lot easier than I had imagined,” Linse said. “She explained how to use the ballot with the voting machine and how to cast my votes.”

Linse said voting for the first time gave her a sense of belonging and empowerment.

“I was excited to be able to have a voice and participate in the democratic process,” Linse said. “I think voting is a very important duty given to citizens and it’s a responsibility that should be taken seriously.”

This story was originally published on The Shield Online on December 21, 2023.