Over the past few weeks our polling team here at The Eagle conducted a survey of 50 students from all grades regarding the upcoming presidential election. While many students were hesitant to respond, with some outright refusing, those that participated in the survey gave us data about students’ views on the candidates, the issues, and their own knowledge of the race. 

In the headlining question, students were asked about who they would vote for in the 2024 election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, 60% students responded in favor of Harris and 28% in favor of Mr. Trump. Notably, in a possible reflection of the close and divisive nature of the election, 12% respond as unsure or undecided. Keeping in mind the margin of error in the data set, these numbers reflect a general preference for Vice President Harris and fall in line with data across the state, with the most recent polling from YouGov showing Harris leading 56% to 30%. For both Candidates, however, their favorability ratings are underwater, with 40% of students having a favorable opinion of Kamala Harris and only 25% with a favorable opinion of Donald Trump.

For the issues that matter the most to students, respondents’ answers found both commonalities and differences from the national political environment. The issue most often to be described as THE most important to students was the economy (28% of respondents), followed by democracy (19%). Students responses began to diverge from national polls on the issue of gun control, where 17% of students described it as their most important issue. In the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, less than 1% of likely voters across the nation listed gun policy as their most important issue.

In our final section we asked students to describe how they interact with news and politics, and how they view their civic duty to be informed citizens as they approach voting age. When asked if they believed that they were “in tune” with the national political environment, only 26% of students responded with a “yes.” A combined 59% responded “maybe or no.” Following that question, we asked students from which sources they received the most of their news. The runaway most popular answer was social media, with almost half of students responding as such. The other half of responses was made up of traditional media sources, television, family members, and various sources.

While this data offers valuable insight into the upcoming election, it is not a complete nor entirely accurate picture of the political landscape at BC High. Regardless of your political leanings, the most important thing you can do is be aware of the issues that impact your life and encourage every adult in your life to vote.