With the election on Nov. 3 approaching rapidly and a handful of Wayland High School seniors being of age to vote, the burning question arises: “Who will WHS seniors be voting for?”

Out of 17 respondents to a survey that was conducted by WSPN among the WHS seniors, nine were able to vote. Seven out of the nine students plan on voting for former Vice President Joe Biden instead of President Donald Trump. Of the 17 respondents – a mix of seniors who can and can’t vote – Biden received 14 votes, and Trump received three votes.

The replies for why people would vote for Biden over Trump varied, but they generally focused on how they believe Trump has failed to properly deal with many issues.

“Trump has not been able to handle most issues very well, and [he] hasn’t made many significant improvements,” a WHS senior who wishes to stay anonymous and will be referred to as Senior A said. “Coronavirus, climate change, civil outrage, immigration, extremism, etc…”

Not only that, but criticisms for Trump seemed to progress and strengthen from there.

“Donald Trump has shown himself to be incapable of fulfilling his duties as president; he has polarized our allies, actively promoted conspiracy theories and misinformation, failed to denounce White Supremacy, said global warming was a hoax, tried to limit women’s reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights and undermined our democracy by saying there might not be a peaceful transition of power,” another senior who will be referred to as Senior B said.

For some seniors, the way the president has handled the COVID-19 pandemic has aided them in their decision for who to vote for.

“Currently, the way he has handled the pandemic has been extremely poor: downplaying its severity, ridiculing doctors and government officials who seek to protect the public, hosting large rallies while not enforcing a mask and social distance protocol, and pulling the US out of the World Health Organization,” Senior B said.

While there were no responses that directly opposed Biden, it is still important to recognize the WHS seniors’ responses that were in favor of Trump. On the other hand, a popular reason why the seniors surveyed are voting for Biden is because of their concern for the future.

“While Joe Biden might not be the ideal candidate, he’s a whole lot better than Trump. I know that with Biden as president, I will no longer have to fear for America’s future and that’s why he has my vote,” Senior A said.