A true American

It’s voting time, and Pine Prairie High Senior Alexander Aguillard and Ville Platte High Senior Antoine Anthony are ready to exercise their right to vote for the very first time. With the casting of their ballot, the two 18-year olds are looking to change the way the younger generation views politics and voting, today.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 44.3 percent of registered voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the 2008 presidential election. In the 2012 presidential election, that number dropped to 38 percent.
Anthony feels that the decrease in young voters might be happening, because “people do not believe that their vote counts.” This however, is not the mind set of this 18-year old student.
Anthony said, “By voting, I hope that I am able to show individuals my age that this is important. The only way your opinion won’t matter is if you choose to not voice it, and one of the ways our voices are heard is through voting. You have to get out there and vote.”
When the VPHS student arrived at the courthouse during early voting, he knew exactly who he was going to cast his vote for.
Before voting, Anthony said, “I spent a lot of time researching the candidates online. It was through my research that I was able to see which candidate shares my opinion.”
People not showing up at the polls isn’t the only problem the younger generation faces.
According to Aguillard, there are also issues with the individuals that are getting out to vote.
Aguillard said, “A lot of people my age don’t vote, and if they do, many of them are going into the voting booth blind, because they haven’t researched where candidates stand on major issues.” Before stepping into the voting booth, Aguillard made it his mission to cast an educated vote by studying all of the candidates on his ballot.
The 18-year old student said, “I began looking forward to being able to vote about a year ago. My grandpa, Greg Aguillard, was always into politics, so when I would work with him that’s all we ever listened to on the radio. He liked to listen to The Shawn Hannity Show or The Rush Limbaugh Show. My grandpa was the first person to introduce me to the importance of always being informed about politics. Once I began becoming more interested in it, I wanted to start researching and watching the news more, myself. That was the only way I was going to be able to make the decision I feel is right for my party.”
According to Aguillard, the topic of politics is something that rarely comes up in conversations amongst his peers.
Aguillard, a registered Republican, said, “Political discussions happen a lot in my Advanced Placement courses, but not so much in my regular classes. Outside of school, my friends do not discuss politics at all. They are more worried about their social life.”
This is something Aguillard hopes his experience with voting can change.
For both of the Evangeline Parish high school students, the voting experience has left them feeling a little bit different than they did before casting their vote in the 2016 Presidential Primary Election.
Anthony said, “I feel like a true American citizen now,” while Aguillard added, “I feel like a grown-up, and like I have done something important.”
Both high school seniors are ready to now use their experience to make a difference.
Anthony said, “Because most people my age do not care about voting, I hope that I can show them that their opinion does matter, and that their vote does count.”
Aguillard said, “I’m ready to now get out there and stress the importance of voting to everyone. I want to promote it, and hopefully create a mass movement where we begin to see an increase in the amount of voters showing up at the polls.”