“I’m very much in the middle, and a part of me is honestly scared to tell people my political views.”

Lisa Yang is a third-year student at UW-Milwaukee. She is currently undecided but wants to pursue a degree in business. Yang believes it is more important to vote in swing states like Wisconsin; however, she says the candidates are not good enough to persuade her to cast a ballot on Nov. 5. 

Colby Lamb: Are you planning on voting? If not, are you not happy with the options on the ballot? Why?

Lisa Yang: I honestly don’t know if I’m going to vote. The main reason is that I don’t know who to vote for because I don’t think either option is great. I grew up not in a politically active household. My parents didn’t vote, so I think I’m backing off what they did. To me, it doesn’t seem like voting is all important. Now that I’m older, I know that voting is super important. So, in my mind, if I don’t know who to vote for, then I might just not vote. 

Colby Lamb: How does living in an important swing state like Wisconsin affect your decision?

Lisa Yang: It makes voters feel special. It makes them feel like their vote is more important. Swing states hold a lot of wild cards in this election. Because I am in a swing state, I feel like my vote is just a little more important. I feel more like I should vote. But at the end of the day, I don’t know who to vote for.

Colby Lamb: How did Joe Biden stepping aside affect your decision on not to vote?

Lisa Yang: I feel like for me, it would be different if Kamala Harris decided to run from the very beginning. She had these policies that she wanted to introduce, and she had this campaign all ready for this. But now that it’s passed down to her, I feel like it’s an obligation for her now. Her policies might not be pretty, and they might not be solid right now just because she did not have a lot of time to organize this campaign as much as other candidates may have.

Colby Lamb: Do you wish there were an open primary after Biden stepped down?

Lisa Yang: Honestly, yes. I feel like a lot of Americans can agree on this. The economy right now, or these past three years, has not been it. There are other factors like foreign aid to other countries that affect us and COVID affected us a lot. I feel like we need a clean slate. Not having Joe Biden run, Kamala Harris or Trump run. A brand-new slate. We need a whole government factory reset. 

Colby Lamb: Has the rhetoric and extreme positions turned you off from politics?

Lisa Yang: One hundred percent. That is what it is because it’s like, if you vote Republican, you’re racist, you’re homophobic, you’re this and that. But if you’re a Democrat, you’re too woke, or you’re not patriotic. There are so many stereotypes about both sides. I have never seen such a political divide in recent years because there’s so much hatred now. I would rather not align myself with either because I am a Christian. I agree with some Democratic things, but I also agree with some Republican things. I’m very much in the middle, and a part of me is honestly scared to tell people my political views because I am in the middle. Nowadays, people are like you’re one or the other. When you’re with somebody on the opposing side, they think you’re a bad person because you agree with the other side. It’s very extreme on both sides. 

Colby Lamb: Do you have any other thoughts about the election?

Lisa Yang: God help us all. I hope people don’t overlook the fact that at the end of the day, we’re not against each other because we are all under one nation. I would like everybody to take a good look at this economy and see if we can continue to survive like this. People are out there without necessities. People are out there not being able to pay rent because the prices of things are so high. The financial aspect of this election is the most important thing because Americans cannot continue to survive like this. I wish there was not so much hatred because you can disagree with somebody and still think they are good human beings.