Carmel Andeberhan stands outside the election center while working as an election judge. The turnout for the senate election was high. “Seeing a Black working woman vote was special,” Andeberhan said. (Photo by Sydney Collinger)

Teenagers are looking for a way to involve themselves in politics more than ever, so it comes as no surprise that students have done campaign work for local and out-of-state politicians. Junior Carmel Andeberhan has been active in politics since middle school when she began Sunrise, an organization fighting climate issues. Since then, she’s been active in a multitude of elections, supporting numerous candidates who share her political views. 

“I was a student election judge, so from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m., [I helped out] with the election,” Andeberhan said. “I would sign ballots. By working for that, I was helping to work towards more democracy for republicans and democrats.”

In addition to being a student election judge, Andeberhan has also phone banked. Phone banking, as Andeberhan explained, is calling up registered and even unregistered voters and encouraging them to vote for a specific candidate in an upcoming election. 

“I phone banked with Kansas for Constitutional Freedom for the Aug. 2 ballot against a constitutional amendment that would restrict abortion rights in Kansas,” Andeberhan said. “I also phone banked for Cori Bush and wrote and sent cards and texts for Bernie for the 2020 presidential election through Sunrise.”

Andeberhan also touched on the importance of the individual votes, saying that while one vote may not be the deciding factor in a presidential election, it still matters and can make all the difference in a local election. 

“Voting may not change the entire world, like it may not fix climate change or systemic racism,” Andeberhan said. “But it’s going to push your local community in the direction that you want.”