Young voters believe their votes are crucial in helping the island community.
Election day has come and it’s time to vote! Residents can be seen lining up to cast their votes for their chosen political candidates.
In the village of Mangilao, two young voters, Joseph Kayler Sarmiento and Bethany Lorenzo spoke to PNC about the importance of youth who are old enough to vote, saying their votes really do count.
“I mean, our vote is our voice. I wanted to make sure that my voice is heard, I mean my brother, my godson, they’re going to be our future, and voting for the candidates that want to promote a healthier Guam is really important to me,” Lorenzo said.
For his part, Sarmiento said: “It was my first time to vote too as a young adult and I did… went in and put my vote in, you know, to get my voice in, especially people our age, our generation, you don’t really see a lot of people like that out there, I wanted to try it out, you see, because it does affect everything right? It affects our future, it affects what we do. it meant a lot to put a vote out there. To have a say.”
With the pandemic still ongoing, both Lorenzo and Sarmiento say they were fortunate enough that the pandemic didn’t hit them as hard as other residents on island.
Lorenzo was still able to keep her job, Sarmiento was able to gain employment and both their families were still able to remain financially stable. They both see the hardships that the pandemic has brought and believe that the candidates they voted for will help the island.
“If elected, then I think they’re going to help build back our island, especially our tourism industry,” Lorenzo said.
Sarmiento said: “Based on what we know about them, a lot of them are being re-elected and of have done things or want to.”
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