Growing up, there are many birthdays that you look forward to: 13, you’re now a teenager; 15, learn how to drive; 16, finally the freedom of getting your license; and then that big 18. Once you turn 18, you are now an adult. Being a legal adult comes with a lot of responsibility — from being able to go to doctors’ appointments on your own to legally getting a tattoo. However, the most important responsibility of turning 18 is being able to vote in local, state, and national elections. 

FWCD welcomed a wave of first-time voters from the senior class. Early Voting in Texas began on October 24, 2022. The official Election Day was November 8, and the FWCD Falcons have been flying to the polls. In Tarrant County, there were 17 early voting locations available Monday, October 28 through Friday, November 4, and on November 8 there were over 20 locations all over the city of Fort Worth to go and cast a vote. The current 2022 seats that are being decided upon in Texas include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of General Land Office, Railroad Commissioner, US Representative, Commissioner of Agriculture, Supreme Court of Texas Justice, State Board of Education, State Senator, State Representative, District Judge, and Criminal Judge. 

Early Voting was the choice for many FWCD students and teachers to cast their ballot. Lucky for us, there was a voting location right near campus at The Como Community Center. This was very convenient for teachers and students to make the quick five-minute drive to place a vote during a free period. And that’s exactly what Chris Baker ‘23 did. 

Baker has been looking forward to voting for a long time. Being a student at FWCD, we are taught in our history classes, especially sophomore government, just how impactful our vote is. 

“Voting for the first time was an exciting event, especially after learning how significant it is historically,” Baker said. “I went and voted during my free period, so when I came back to school I enjoyed going to my teachers and bragging to them about the fact that I had just voted.” 

A popular misconception with young voters is that the entire process takes a large amount of your day, and you will have to wait hours upon hours just to cast a ballot. When in reality, it takes about 20 minutes to complete the process; this has been a shock to many first-time voters. 

“I was surprised by how much of an easy and quick process it was,” Baker said.

Voting is an exciting and fun experience for any voter, regardless of whether it is their first time voting or their tenth time at the polls. The wonderful volunteers who help out at the polls are a large part of why the experience is so meaningful for so many Americans. 

“The people at the polling location were so kind and congratulatory about how it was my first time voting,” Ben Blahitka ‘23 said. “It made the experience really special.” 

The votes for this year’s 2022 elections in Tarrant County were counted on November 8 and announced at midnight on November 9. The winners of the election were Greg Abbot (Governor), Dan Patrick (Lieutenant Governor), Ken Paxton (Attorney General), Glen Hegar (Comptroller), Dawn Buckingham (Land Commissioner), Side Miller (Agriculture Commissioner), Wayne Christian (Railroad Commissioner).