North Texas Daily

Evan Groom

At the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, several voters shared their experiences with the 2016 election and what made them pick their choices.

Shelly Owens, a Denton business owner, expressed concerns about voter turnout.

“It seems that many people are not voting just because they are not content with either candidate,” Owens said. “No matter what, your vote counts.”

Owens said that she grew up hearing of Hillary Clinton’s work and accomplishments in politics, which she said informed her vote.

Similar to Owens, UNT international studies sophomore Alexandra Rojas said that she voted for Clinton.

“My mom has always loved Hillary, so I grew up hearing a lot about her,” Rojas said.

She also said that she would be happy to see the first woman president and such a historic accomplishment would inspire young women with interests in politics.

Jason Musser said that while it was good for women to have an influential political figure to look up to, he didn’t think it should have been a focus point for voters.

Previously a Bernie supporter, he said that he was let down by the primary process and was not impressed by either candidate. He ultimately chose Hillary as he believed she was open to collaborating with others and sharing ideas while Trump was not.

UNT advertising junior Chris Kuehn said that he also dislikes both candidates and decided to vote for Gary Johnson.

“The whole election [has] felt superficial,” Kuehn said. “Neither result was one that I really wanted.”

Of the two main candidates, he said that he agreed more with Hillary on her policies, but could not trust her as president due to her history of working with banking corporations.

UNT advertising sophomore Charlie Haskell said that he also sided with Sanders and did not side with either party. He said that neither candidate was a good representation of the common U.S. citizen.

UNT art education graduate student James Owen said that he didn’t side with either party, but liked Hillary’s public image much more.

“The president and executive branches aren’t really as powerful as we think they are,” Owen said. “Because of this, I think their image is really important.”

He said that he also agrees with Clinton’s affordable care and net neutrality stances, but doesn’t think she’ll make any substantial changes while in office.

Dr. Lynn Stucky, candidate for Texas State Representative, said that he voted for Trump but did not personally like the character of either candidate.

“I didn’t vote for the individual, I voted for the platform,” Stucky said.

He said that Trump would do a good job revamping the health care system and increasing border security. He also thinks Trump has good intentions and will make meaningful changes to U.S. policy for the better.

“The United States is the greatest place to live [in] and I want it to stay that way,” Stucky said.