Every year, the Westside High School AP Government class holds a mock election for students to vote in. When asked about what the pandemic has done to change the project, AP Government Instructor David Bywater said that this year’s project looks fairly similar to previous years despite COVID-19 concerns.

“With students at home and in school we weren’t sure how this would affect the project, but I think there’s a disconnected feeling,” Bywater said. “Some students are FaceTiming and texting and emailing so they can stay connected, but  it’s kind of a wait and see thing right now. For some, this method is working really well, and for others it isn’t, but we are just at the beginning of this project so I think there is still time for us to make adjustments to make sure everyone feels connected.”

Senior Senate Candidate Kadin Williams said he had to make some changes to his campaign due to the pandemic.

“I chose to run partially just to have fun, and secondly to support my friends in their presidential campaigns,” Williams said. “[COVID-19] hasn’t been affecting my campaign too much. I’ve been playing it by ear and just having fun with the project, but it doesn’t really make too much of an impact in my opinion. Current events affect what we talk about, and right now we are talking about [COVID-19] and the current election for the majority of the time, and making connections with how things are working with this election and that election.”

Senior Presidential Candidate Rachel Tonniges said there were several factors that sparked her interest to run for President.

“I chose to run for president because I have a personal interest in politics,” Tonniges said. “I also think that in politics people represent themselves, and as a queer woman it is important to me that I am well represented and what I believe in is stood up for.” 

Tonniges said the pandemic has changed her focus for her campaign.

“[COVID-19] has affected our campaign in a lot of interesting ways,” Tonniges said. “It has made campaigning very virtual but it is also at the forefront of a lot of our issues. Current events are very important especially because [the United States is] at the end of an election cycle, and this is really influential because how we run our campaigns has been directly reflecting our take on the current [United States] President.”