Seniors Register to Vote Thursday, February 23, 2012 By Hannah Jeffrey - Google Images Advertising     This November, voters will scurry to the voting booths to cast their votes for the 2012 presidential election. For many high school seniors, this will be the first election in which they will be voting. However, before the big day comes new voters must register to vote, a coming of age process that has turned children into adults throughout the history of America.     Usually, one can register to vote upon obtaining his or her driver’s license. The process is quick and takes less than one minute, as the MVA official asks the voter-to-be with which party they wish to be affiliated. In Maryland, the future voter can opt to register to be a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, a member of the Green Party, or an Independent, as these are the political ideologies that are recognized in this state. This may be a tough decision for some, but for others, political opinions come as naturally as breathing.     This may be a result of political socialization, which is the thought that political ideals are passed down from generation to generation, and an individual may base his or her preferences off of family ideas, religious beliefs, race, location, or some other applicable factor.     Senior Chris Lowman explained, “I registered when I went to replace my driver’s license, and I registered Republican. That’s the atmosphere that’s prevalent in my house, and I do agree with the principles of that party, too.”     Registration online is also possible, and easy, according to senior Juliann Peters.     “I registered Democrat online about two months ago,” said Peters. “I plan on voting in November because I feel that it is important to take part in the political process, even at a young age. I’m going to vote with my party because I don’t agree with the members of the Republican party, and I find the Republican candidates to be weak. Obama did a fine job, but I don’t think that he was given enough chances to prove himself, thus weakening his leadership.”         Senior Kayla Gibson took a different route when registering to vote. Instead of simply completing the form online, Gibson took her forms to the Board of Election Office at Bloomsbury.             “At the Board of Election office, I registered Republican based on my conservative economic and militaristic standpoints. I feel like I just want to be a party of the political process, but I’m not positive if I’ll be voting since there’s no candidate that I really support,” Gibson expressed.     Other seniors, like Alyssa Judson and Calder Styer, have yet to register, but still plan on casting their votes come election day in November.     “I haven’t registered yet, but I’ll register Republican because I’m pretty much a staunch conservative. Hopefully, I’ll register within the next month because I really want to vote, even though there’s no great choice,” justified Judson.     When asked if he had registered, Styer said, “No, not yet,. I plan on registering as an Independent before this year’s election, and I’ll definitely vote because it’ll be the first time I’ll be able to. I’ll vote for Ron Paul because he’s not a Wall Street approved politician, and I think that the candidates are weak on both sides anyway.”     No matter how they registered or when, seniors are beyond excited to go out this November and cast their first ballots. Statistically, young voters tend to hit the voting booths much less than older voters, but these soon-to-be voters are ready to change that. However, they still have some catching up to do if they want to have a voting record like AP Government teacher, Doug Albright.     “I have successfully voted in every presidential election and every primary since I registered to vote at age 18,” proclaimed Mr. Albright.

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