In a recent anonymous survey taken from Nov. 15 to 20, Tracy High School students were asked about their opinions on the results of the 2024 presidential election. Along with the survey, three students chose to give their opinions through an additional interview.  

Students were notified prior to completing the survey that their results were anonymous, informational, and free from criticism.  Of the 409 survey-takers, 93% did not vote in this election.  

When asked on their opinion about the results, students were roughly proportionately split across sides. 

“I feel as though both candidates have their ups and down but either in presidency won’t greatly impact laws or how things operate,” one student wrote. Another student wrote that they believe “both candidates were not the best fit by any means, and honestly, they were both trash people.”  

Some students expressed their dislike or like for the results, specifically mentioning candidates and key issues.  

“Trump has repeatedly shown to be unfit for the position of president, being a spreader of misinformation, fear mongering, and plain badmouthing of other people…. The fact that despite his numerous felonies, he was able to win the election is honestly flabbergasting,” the 22nd respondent answered.  

In contrast, one student confided that they think “after hearing the promises that Trump made to the country (a cut on taxes mainly), wars ending because of our new leader (Ukraine and Russia War), and China proposing becoming an ally, I can say that I am pleased to have such a strong leader be in charge of our country.” 

A few students expressed conflicting feelings.  

“I think Trump will help with the economy but I’m not sure how well he’ll help the people,” the 314th student expressed.  

“I don’t like any of the candidates,” one student stated. “They both support the genocide happening in Palestine. They both lie stating they will do something, but never do.”  

Most responses boiled down to concerns about the economy and women’s rights, likeness of a candidate, or general indifference. 

When asked about whether they considered themselves to be opinionated on politics, 47% chose no. 

However, on average, respondents rated the importance of voting an 8.19 out of 10, (10 being very important).  

“I believe voting is a small way to secure the rights of yourself and the people around you even if the legislation doesn’t affect you,” the 20th respondent admitted.

“Our future relies on our president and how they choose to run America,” another agreed. 

Though, some students expressed another opinion. 

“It depends on what state you’re in,” the 397th respondent stated. “Like in California your vote doesn’t really matter.”  

Politically, respondents were almost split down the middle on their beliefs: 51% claimed to align most with the right and 49% with the left. 

According to IB Diploma candidate and AgSci student Aubrea Davis, she is “lukewarmly satisfied with the results” of the election. 

According to Davis, some Republican supporters need to educate themselves more on specific policy instead of just viewing the winner and loser like a sports competition.   

“I think that can be very dangerous and I feel like in this election, some of the supporters should have thought of what they were getting into.” 

According to Davis, the “deciding factor” in her alignment with the Republican party was how the topic of gender-affirming surgery was received from the different parties. 

“Altering your body… shouldn’t be okay until you reach the age of consent,” Davis said. Davis said she supports LGBTQ rights and equality for all, but the age of consent was a focus of concern for her.  

Another concern Davis feels is the potential of tariffs increasing prices, which is a policy Donald J. Trump proposed. 

Senior Kavin Satishkumar, who claims to have Republican values, citied the economy as a concern.  

“We’ve had a huge economic problem,” Satishkumar continued. “Inflation has gone up, prices have gone up drastically, which I’m not saying it’s the president’s fault, but I think that people just want to see something different.” 

He said he was not excited about either candidate, as there were “major deficiencies on both sides.”  

“Kamala definitely didn’t have enough time to campaign,” Satishkumar explained. “A lot of her rallies had rappers and people performing and I felt like I wasn’t really seeing a lot of substance.”

Satishkumar responded that he leaned right on issues such as gun control and immigration, but left on the issue of abortion. 

Another senior, Jaime Germes, claimed that he doesn’t see a lot of people like himself, educating themselves on politics or advocating. Specifically, men or people of color.  

Germes identifies as liberal, pointing to the importance of abortion rights and immigration as a key to his political views. 

“I don’t understand why people would want to put restrictions on that,” Germes confirmed. “Not a lot of people know that illegal immigrants pay into social security, even though they get nothing back.”

For Germes, Harris presented the best policies to lead the country moving forward.  

“I really like Kamala’s policies- like decreasing taxes for the lower class but increasing them for the upper class,” Germes answered. “We need to instigate that more, for the wealth inequality.” 

Germes also raised the topic of the media’s impact on future voters.  

“There’s been a lot of content on conservative values- from people like Andrew Tate” Germes observed. “I feel like that content isn’t going to stay forever but that audience is always going to be.” 

Germes predicted that with the media, “it will be harder for people to find a middle ground” in future elections.

“A lot of people who ignore politics are usually a little more privileged,” Germes said. 

Germes advised voters to continue to educate themselves on policy and candidates before casting their vote.