The United States presidential election will take place on Nov. 5, between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and some students have strong opinions on the race.

Verde Magazine polled 182 Palo Alto High School students from Sept. 23 to 25. According to the poll, 59.9% of respondents support Harris while 15.9% support Trump and 10% prefer neither/none.

Throughout the country, young voters see Harris in a more positive light than both former democratic candidate Joe Biden or Trump, according to an Axios/Generation Lab poll conducted in July 2024. 45% of 18-34 year olds hold a favorable view of Harris, while just 33% hold a favorable view of Biden and 34% for Trump.

The results of these polls don’t surprise AP U.S. History teacher Katya Villalobos. 

“They [young people] also seem to be not only supporting Kamala Harris … they seem to be much more enthusiastic about the choice,” Villalobos said. 

10% of respondents in the Verde poll say they don’t prefer either candidate. Villalobos chalks this up to disengaged and single-issue voters.

“It could be that this group of people just aren’t interested in the election,” Villalobos said. “The other possibility is, it could be [that] they want to look at specific issues, because you also have these voters that vote on very limited issues as opposed to the overall candidate.”

Junior Duncan Sego believes the two candidates should try to appeal more to young voters.

“To connect with young people, I think they [Trump and Harris] should genuinely listen to them,” Sego said. “College students protested for months last year across the campuses of the country in support of Palestine, and nothing happened. Clearly the politicians are not listening to the [young] people in those regards.”

Sophomore Arman Aditya Basu is undecided between the two candidates.

“[Kamala Harris] is a better candidate than Joe Biden, yes, than Donald Trump? I don’t know,” Basu said. “I think Trump is a liar, a cheater and I don’t agree with some of the things he stands for. Meanwhile, Harris … might be a little too progressive.”

Sego also thinks that Harris is an improvement over Biden in some areas, but not in others.

“Between Harris and Biden the largest difference is physical ability,” Sego said. “People do not have faith that Biden can effectively lead for another four years.”