![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and its played such a major role in who Ive become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something Im [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala (21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“Im not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
Number of voters registered for June 7 California primary increases this year
Wikimedia Commons
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses an audience of young adults at a presidential campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa.
May 26, 2016
The number of Californians registering to vote in this year’s presidential primary have increased to 17.4 million voters from last year’s turnout of 13.2 million voters.
According to reports from California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, 17.2 million Californians had registered to vote by April 8. Political Data Inc., a state voter tracking company based in Los Angeles, reported that more than 850,000 new Californian voters registered this year, while 600,000 Californians re-registered to switch their party affiliations.
“I think the number of registered voters has increased this year because many people have strong feelings about the candidates and want a say in the process,” Tiffany Zhu (11) said.
Political Data Inc. also reports that nearly 200,000 Californians registered to vote through Facebook last Monday and Tuesday. Facebook encouraged users to vote by placing a registration button linking to the state’s online registration system above newsfeeds.
“Social media has made voting more accessible,” said Carol Green, upper school U.S. History and AP Government teacher. “Facebook’s links made registering to vote more convenient.”
Currently, 44 percent of new Californian voters registered for the Democratic party and 16.7 percent of voters registered Republican.
“I think that there is a lot of commotion with this election, especially with Trump being the Republican nominee; people want their vote to count and people want to say ‘no, we don’t want a bigot in office, we don’t want to take ten steps back after having our first African-American president,’” Bernie Sanders supporter Sumati Wadhwa (10) said.
A large portion of Californian voters are still undecided about their party affiliations. Raymond Banke (9) believes many will vote for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
“I think that Trump will be able to sway voters because he’s very persuasive,” Raymond said. “If you look at his policies and what he’s been able to do in the past, it’s very possible that Trump will win votes from California voters.”
County and state voter counts also clean out the files of voters who have not voted in the last four statewide elections. Santa Clara County voting offices have removed 11,351 voters from voting rolls, while Contra Costa County offices have removed 6,610 voters.
Voting registration polls and sites closed on May 23 to allow for an official recounting of registered voters in preparation for the California presidential primary on June 7.
