This year, many students will be casting their first vote in Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial election. The West Po Wire surveyed seniors across all government classes and received over 100 responses. The survey found that of students eligible to vote, only 46% have registered. This means that less than half of eligible seniors are registered to vote. Overall, only 10.6% of seniors are registered to vote in this election.
Alexis Johnson, senior, is a registered voter and plans on voting in the upcoming election. When asked if she thinks voting is important, she responded, “Voting makes your voice heard if there’s a problem in your community.” Johnson added, “I know a lot of people think that their vote doesn’t count towards anything, but it actually means a lot. I think it’s always very important for people to vote, especially people in our generation.”
Rates of youth voters are the lowest of any age group. According to Tuft’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), voter turnout in the 2024 presidential election for voters aged 18-29 was just 47%. This number is even lower for Virginia’s last gubernatorial election in 2021, with CIRCLE estimating that just 25% of youth voted.
Many seniors will not be old enough to vote in the 2025 election. The survey found that 77% of seniors will not be eligible to vote in November. However, some of these students have preregistered to vote. In Virginia, students 16 years of age or older that will not be 18 by Election Day can preregister to vote. If a student pre-registers, this means that when they turn 18 they will automatically be added to a voter registration list and be able to cast a ballot without registering again.
Madeline Corrothers, a senior, won’t be 18 by election day, so she prereg-istered to vote. “I think that if you continue putting [registration] off, you’re more likely to forget and it’s important to let your voice be heard.”
When asked why she thinks voting is so important, Corrothers said, “So students can …make an impact on the current political climate.”
According to the Harvard Kennedy School, many young people are unhappy with the current political climate. Their poll found that 51% of young Americans feel that their country is off on the wrong track, while only 19% trust the federal government to do the right thing most or all of the time.
The trends seen at West Potomac reflect a broader challenge nationwide: young voters consistently turn out at lower rates than any other age group. As Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial election approaches, the question of how many young people will actually show up to vote is a defining factor for the political future of Virginia.
