In the 2022 Colorado midterm elections, about 50 patrons at Zoe’s Café patiently waited for the election results. Most of the patrons were college-age students. Zoe’s Café was buzzing; people were very talkative and anxious to know the midterm election results.
“I voted,” Claire Kostelnik, first-year computer science major, said. “I am registered in Boulder. Most of the issues I just read them and Google searched. If it didn’t make sense then I just picked which one I liked and agreed with. I think it is good to have your opinion on your ballot.”
At 7:56 p.m. Sen. Michael Bennet was in the lead at 58.15% against Joe O’Dea. Gov. Jared Polis wwas in the lead at 60% against Heidi Ganahl.
Owen Ells is a junior majoring in human development and family studies at Colorado State University.
“In my opinion many of the Republican Party has lots of things that are untrustworthy,” Ells said. “It’s mostly involving false facts to make things sound bigger or distracting from the actual issue by using religion as a Trojan horse.”
“I am registered in Park County,” Ells said over Zoom. “I voted for all Democrats for the representatives. Because there is a lot of hate coming from the right, a lot of scare tactics and how the party as a whole is against women’s rights, like what the f***?”
At around 8 p.m. a birthday party celebration commenced at the café. They socialized, played a game, and sang happy birthday. Once the party left the café, the remaining students trickled out. While Zoe’s remained open, the curiosity among students for the election seemed to fade away. The TVs turned off, no longer showing election coverage. The coffee house blend seemed louder to students studying. The three baristas closed their stations. The happy coffee house background noise gave a sense of focus and had a satisfying addition to the study environment.
“The governor I voted for was Jared Polis,” Kostelnik said. “I went to a lot of the pro-choice rallies this year, and he was always there with things to say to people that supported. He is very outspoken about women’s rights in general. I’m a girl, so I like seeing males that have authority supporting women. He is also publicly out as gay, so I think that is helpful in some way to diversify. I don’t think we’ve really had outwardly gay politicians. I don’t know how the gay thing’s important, but I think it’s cool. He was also on the board of education, so he has made a lot of progress there.”
For many young voters they are unsure that their voices are being heard, but some voted for representatives who they feel will help with this concern.
