Presidential voting decisions are made in many ways

By Emily Crouse
April 13, 2016

With the presidential election coming up in the near future, it raises the questions of how people make their decision on who to vote for, especially when it comes to people who do not have in-depth knowledge on politics it raises the question what they base their decision on.

The age group of college students and young adults are some of the many people who sometimes fall under the category of not knowing much about politics.

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Students admit to how their political views are influenced

“I’m not really into politics. I usually base my decision off of who my dad votes for because he is really into politics and what is going on each day,” sophomore Sarah Boulaiche said. “I base my decision on who has the best to offer and really has the intention to make things better without bias. I get most of my information through what my dad tells me.”

However, not all students are lacking knowledge when it comes to politics. There are people who follow candidates and find out what they stand for. It is really common to hear from young adults and college students that they find most of their information on candidates through social media.

“I base it on how much I know about the candidates and if they follow certain values I hold,” junior Thomas Hegedus said. “I do not follow the candidates thoroughly and a lot of information is obtained through social media and when late shows give monologues that discuss the candidate’s.”

There are people who post things for them and also allows the candidates to have a more edited response or statement.

“I’m not really into politics so I honestly usually base my decision off of family political opinions because that’s usually the main way I hear about politics,” University of Delaware sophomore Rachel Pappas said. “I base my decision off of social media too because that’s the other place you see the main points that the candidates make or their main views.”

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Religion plays a big aspect on political views. Graphic designed by Abbie Keefe

When candidates are in live debates, this makes them think on their toes and does not let them give statements that are as prepared as they are when posted on social media.

For the people who do not base their decision off of what they see on social media and from having knowledge of politics, they turn to culture.

“Culture has a strong influence on how we grow up and on what we hear from our parents, relatives and friends. What they accept as the problems of the country, what media they listen to, Fox or MSNBC, influence the way we structure the issues and the way we form images of the candidates,” Dr. Kathleen McKinley, sociology professor, said. “Ethnicity affects us because it is a part of the culture as we experience our own version of it. All our cultural baggage and the issues raised by our histories all of this goes with our ethnicity and affects the way we view the world and helps determine what issues are critically important to us. We are socialized into a way of seeing and it is difficult to escape it.”

Religion is also something that people will use to help make their presidential decision.

“My Catholic religion and conservative beliefs really influence the way I vote. My parents are very conservative so I take off some of their opinions as well,” senior Peter Lyden said. “I look into a political candidate’s background and their history.”

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Emily Crouse

Thrill chaser, communication queen, inspired futuristic, go getter. Majoring in Digital Communications and Social Media at Cabrini College. Member of the Cabrini Women's Lacrosse team and lover of life.

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