Just hours after Vice President Kamala Harris secured the necessary votes from delegates to officially become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee — Tuesday morning, Aug. 6, Harris announced that she had chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her ticket running mate.

The pick may have come as a surprise to many after a wide list of names, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, has circled around the debate forums and social media pages for the last few weeks.

City of Athens and Limestone County residents did not seem as surprised about the pick — with many showing little to no interest in the choice or the upcoming election at all.

“None, none,” Charles Lee, Limestone County resident, said after he was asked how much attention he is giving the upcoming election. “I don’t care what party is in office.”

When asked if he cared about the vice presidential pick of Harris, or if he planned on voting in the upcoming election, Lee simply said, “Nope.”

Despite that mindset, and one shared by others, voter turnout in presidential elections drastically increased in 2020, with 159,738,337 total ballots cast nationwide.

“I’ve been busy today, so I haven’t seen anything about her pick,” Beth Anerton, Athens resident, told The News Courier. “I just know we’re pro-Trump, so her pick really doesn’t affect me much.”

Many of the people questioned wished to remain anonymous, with most people choosing not to speak on the current events going on in America’s political world.

Donovan McDougal, a local Athens farmer, refuted that idea by stating that he has seen people’s lack of interest in the country’s politics negatively affect it more, than do any good.

“I give our politics a good amount of attention, maybe not 100 percent of my attention, but I am definitely interested in our politics,” McDougal said. “When I saw her pick I just thought, ‘I don’t know who that is,’ and I don’t really plan on finding out. I’m not planning on voting (for) that ticket anyways.”