The 2016 election is nearing and many women like Anna Duvall, a senior at the University of New Mexico are going to the polls to voice their opinions.
According to a Reuters poll, Duvall is among 19 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 29 that support Donald Trump. The remaining women of this age group are projected by this poll to vote for Clinton (47.6 percent), another candidate (14.6 percent) or to not vote in this election at all (14.1 percent).
“I am voting for Donald Trump, simply because he is the Republican front-runner,” said Anna Duvall, a University of New Mexico (UNM) senior.
Duvall said she registered as a Republican because the party’s values correspond more closely with her religious beliefs. Duvall said she does not have a favorite candidate, but prefers Trump over Clinton.
“I feel like they both have their own agenda,” Duvall said. “And don’t always have the best interests of the people as a whole in mind.”
Duvall says she does not always believe that her vote matters, but in the end she believes that every vote adds up. She says this is the reason she chooses to vote.
According to a Reuters poll, 40 percent of Caucasian female voters between the ages of 18-29 are voting for Hillary Clinton, 18 percent for Donald Trump and 13 percent for Gary Johnson.
Peri Moran a female senior at UNM is a Republican and said she plans to vote for Trump.
“I want Trump to win because he is not only a Republican but because I feel like he will get stuff done for our country,” Moran said.
Moran said Trump does not always say the brightest things but thinks he has good ideas.
“I think that everybody who is eligible to vote should vote,” Moran said.
Cameron Rosales, senior at UNM, also says everyone “should absolutely vote.”
“I think every vote matters,” Rosales said.
Rosales said he comes from a middle class Hispanic family. He said his single mother raised him. Rosales is voting for Clinton because he says Trump would be detrimental to people like his mother.
“Honestly I dislike both candidates,” Rosales said. “But from what Trump has said, I’m terrified that he would create a lot of issues for people like my family; like my mom.”
Rosales said he believes that the issue with this election is that the voters are picking between the lesser of two evils, which is Clinton.
According to a poll by Reuters, Hispanic, male voters in the age category of 18-29 are more likely to vote for Hillary Clinton. The poll found 38 percent are voting for Clinton, 16 percent for Trump, and 16 percent for Gary Johnson.
Dominic Benavidez, Hispanic senior at UNM, said he is still deciding if he wants to vote in this election. He said if he votes, there is still the process of deciding on the best candidate.
“I will most likely vote for Gary Johnson because I would like to see a third party gain popularity,” Benavidez said.
Benavidez said his views do not match with the Democrats or Republicans. He said he registered as an Independent voter.
“I hope that voting for a third party will eventually bring more recognition to them and impact the future elections,” Benavidez said.
UNM graduate student Erika Hernandez said she was born into a middle class Colombian family. Hernandez said she is a Democrat because their views are similar with her own. Hernandez says her parents were born in Colombia and moved to the United States before she was born.
“Trump is saying that he wants to build a wall so that immigrants cannot come over,” Hernandez said, “So I am worried about what that notion would do for immigrants like my family.”
Hernandez said her parents are not allowed to vote and she feels like it is her duty because she is the voice of her family. Hernandez said she believes that everyone who is eligible to vote should vote.
“I also feel like it is a great honor to be able to vote and voice our opinions,” Hernandez said. “So I do not see why people do not take advantage of that.”
Hernandez say it is important to give their opinions because it could change how their futures are impacted.
Hanna Park is an Asian-American senior at UNM. Park said she does not feel like voting in this election. Park says she thinks the voting outcome will not make much of a difference. Park says she feels like she is in a losing situation regardless of which candidate wins.
“Normally it is important to vote because it means that you are voicing your opinion,” Park said.
Park says she is sitting out of this election and not voting. She thinks it is a “lose-lose” situation.
Dez Ravenel, an African-American senior at UNM, said he thinks this election is more of a popularity contest than one based on real issues. Ravenel says he is also not voting.
“I don’t think my single vote will make much of a difference,” Ravenel said. “Even if it did, I think we would lose regardless of which candidate won.”
Ravenel said he does not see the point in voting because the outcome will not help people like himself.
According to a poll by Reuters, over 1700 people were polled, and 6 percent of those people said they were not going to vote in this election.
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