Across the country, citizens of the United States had the opportunity to vote for congressmen, representatives and governors in the midterm elections on Nov. 8. In Oakwood, the elections took place in City Hall, and many students were old enough to vote.

“I believe voting is important because every vote counts. If people don’t vote, then they are throwing away the chance for the person they want to win,” Ashley Wiegand (12) said. 

These elections happen every two years. Their main focus is on the House of Representatives, the Senate and electing State Governors.

“We’re in charge of everything from the President of the United States all the way down to school board members and things of that sort,” Tommy Routsong said .

Routsong is a member of the board of elections. An Oakwood alumnus himself, he has been working with the election boards for 15-20 years. 

“I really feel as if I have an effect off of making sure that democracy is withheld in Montgomery county and that we see to it that the right person votes in the right location,” Routsong said.

There are 367,297 registered voters in Montgomery County. According to Routsong, there are also around 150 polling stations and about 1,800 poll workers working those stations. These poll workers can be anyone from seniors in high school and beyond. 

“Some of the best poll workers we have are high school individuals that come in and work the polls,” said Routsong. “We have training classes that are mandatory now in Montgomery county that all poll workers have to go through. And the high school kids, I gotta tell you, are always better prepared than a lot of the people that we put through our program.” 

One such poll worker is Sean Micheal (12), who worked the polls for Oakwood. 

“You’re checking voters in, you’re making sure they know which voting station to vote at [and] making sure they have all the resources they need to vote,” Micheal said. 

If you want to become a poll worker, the only requirement is to be 18 or a senior in high school. You also need to talk to sign up on Frank LaRose, the Secretary of State’s website to be a poll worker. 

“It’s an interesting experience, you get to see how democracy works at the very small level that is local politics,” Micheal said .

If you want to see the results of the election, go to https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/. Midterm elections and elections in general are one way to be involved in our country’s policies, as well as execute your right to vote as an American citizen.