Kevin McGean has kept up with the Presidential campaign since the primaries. He tunes in to the news every night. He reads political articles. He watched the presidential debates.

Kevin turned 18 over the summer allowing him to do what he has always wanted to do – vote.

“I feel that once you reach the age of 18, you have  duty as a United States citizen to vote,” said McGean

November 8 will see the election of the 45th U.S. president. Almost one-third of Stratford’s senior class (23 out of 73 students) will have turned 18 by the day of the election and have the opportunity to contribute to the national decision.

“Our country’s in a very delicate point, where things could go good or they could go bad,” said McGean.

McGean registered to vote on his own, but other students opted to go  through Ms. Nancy Todd, senior humanities teacher and life-skills expert of the school. Todd hung QR codes across the campus to allow students to go immediately to the link to register. They could then go to Todd for additional help.

Obviously, the major pull to vote in the upcoming election is the ability to cast a ballot for the next president, with the two leads being the polarizing figures Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

This year is especially important for voters of both parties. Georgia is has traditionally been a “red state,”  but this year’s race is considerably tighter, and its 16 electoral votes are up for grabs.

“During non-national election years, when it’s just local elections, the students general [register] in the spring when they have some free time. It’s kind of casual,” said Todd. “But for this year, because we have a national election, they’re very excited and they work hard at making sure they’ve gotten registered.”

The upcoming ballot will allow voters to check other boxes involving Senate and House seats, a Constitutional amendments, and the public service commissioner.

“I’ve always wanted to vote,” said McGean. “And I’m going to vote.”