Senior Maya Campo turns 18 in April, and she is ready to make her voice heard this November.
As the presidential primary election nears, seniors are starting to fill out their ballots and vote for the first time as legal adults, and they have the ability to vote as soon as they’re eligible.
“I’m excited to [vote],” Campo said. “I think that it’s something that everyone should participate in. I feel really strongly about that.”
The 2024 election will likely be a rematch of the 2020 election, in which Democratic candidate Joe Biden beat Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump. There is a lot of concern regarding both candidates’ ages and their abilities to serve as president.
This election season is also filled with tension due to the concerning political climate between the two main parties, and the back and forth as to whether to allow Trump to run with his criminal record.
“I hope that in the future, there will be more younger candidates,” Campo said.
She believes that a younger president would better represent the general population and the struggles facing young adults. They also wouldn’t be at such high risk for age-related problems or other medical issues that come with age.
Campo is also ASB president, giving her a natural path towards working in government, but when asked if she desired to take up a career down that road, she said she wasn’t interested.
“Personally, no, but I definitely think that something leadership-oriented is something that I’m interested in,” Campo said.
Campo wanted to close by urging her fellow seniors to exercise their right to vote both for the primaries and in the official presidential election this November.
“In an area like Thousand Oaks, we have such easy access to polling places,” Campo said. “So everyone should take advantage of that.”