Americans pride themselves on their ability to have a say in choosing their leaders, from the local level all the way up to the presidential election. The right to vote is as sacred in this country as the Bill or Rights.
On Nov. 4, the eldest seniors at Staples High School marched into their polling places in Westport as new participants of America’s democracy. Unfortunately, some faced unexpected blockades as they attempted to cast their very first vote.
Ko Seltzer ’24 expressed his frustration and disappointment with the ordeal. He, like other seniors, had registered to vote at school when the Westport League of Women Voters came to Staples. However, when he arrived at Greens Farms Elementary School to cast his ballot, he was turned away.
“I originally tried to vote at around 2 p.m. at Greens Farms, which is the polling site for my district,” Seltzer said. “I presented the worker there with my license and he checked his list for my name, but I wasn’t there.”
Poll workers instructed him to go to Town Hall to register to vote, though he had already pre-registered at school.
“After I was told I wasn’t on the registry at GFS, I had to get in the car and drive down to Town Hall to redo all the paperwork to cast my vote,” Seltzer said. “It was definitely embarrassing to have waited in line and get all excited only to be told I didn’t sign up correctly; luckily for me, there was enough time for me to re-register and vote on the same day.”
While Seltzer was eventually able to exercise his right to vote, the experience left him disappointed.
“Even though I was ultimately able to vote, it was a discouraging experience overall.”
Similarly, Francie Schwabe ’24,missed out on her first election as an eligible voter due to blunders in the registration system. She too went to GFS to vote and was initially turned away.
“When I got there I went up to the guy working for my district so that he could check me in. She said, “Then he called over the moderator and she said that I had come too late and that same day registration had closed, even though I had registered about a month and a half ago.”
Schwabe also emphasized the inability of the individuals running the polls to help her and other new voters with the same problem.
“They basically told me there was nothing I could do, but some lady who was working for one of the people running overheard this and tried to help me because she had heard about the same thing happening to other students,” Schwabe said. “ he called a few people and explained the situation, and they told me I could try to go to town hall but there wasn’t really anything else to do.”
Eventually, Schwabe was turned away from the polls altogether.
“I went to town hall and all they did was have me register but said I couldn’t vote because the polls had closed even though originally I had gotten to the polls on time,” Schwabe said.
Even though I was ultimately able to vote, it was a discouraging experience overall
— Ko Seltzer '24
Like Seltzer, Schwabe was disappointed with the entire process. She had anticipated casting her vote for a long time and felt let down by the adults who were meant to aid her through the process.
“It was just kind of surprising when I got there to be turned away when I thought I had been registered,” Schwabe said, “Even though it wasn’t a presidential election it’s still exciting to vote for the first time, so to have it turn into a whole ordeal and in the end not be able to vote was disappointing.”
She too registered at Staples with the League of Women Voters on National Voter Registration Day.
“They just had me fill out a form and then told me I was all set and I never heard anything else about it,” Schwabe said.
Not all seniors had such a disappointing election day. Kaya Law ’24 had a relatively easy process, though she did not register in the same way that Seltzer and Schwabe did.
“I brought a filled out voter registration form and my driver’s license to Town Hall on election day and the people working registered me and I was able to vote at the same time,” Law said.
