The voter registration drive ran from October 10 to October 11, where students and a teacher on special assignment Ms. Alyssa Harvey led a table helping students to register to vote digitally or by mail.
“This was actually entirely student-led. I helped run a voter drive two years ago, and I ran it with the siblings of some of the students who approached me,” Harvey said. “This was something that I have to give credit to our student body for because they approached me and asked if I would help, and I was happy to.”
Harvey and the students involved also offered a Wawa gift card as a reward to one of the registered participants
“I’ve learned that a lot of high school students are confused by the process, so giving them information about how to register– because it can be confusing– is really helpful,” senior Lucy Hewitt, who helped to run the drive, said.
Many of the students who were initially involved with planning the drive also have experience working with Representative Mary Gay Scanlon and other local politicians.
“You get so many kids who are like, ‘I’m not voting because I just don’t want to be involved in that. I’m involved in it once I vote,’ and that’s the end of it,” Harvey said.
However, some students are still enthusiastic about voting.
“I turned 18 a month ago, so I can vote, and I’m very excited because I’ve really wanted to do it for a long time, and it’s always been something that I’m really interested in,” senior Emily Reilly said.
The main goal of the voter drive was to remove the barrier stopping students from voting.
“I decided to volunteer because I think it’s so important to get out and vote. We have this opportunity for a reason, and if you’re going to be 18 before the cutoff, it’s so important that you use it,” Reilly said.
Students are preparing to vote by informing themselves about the main issues that the candidates are arguing about and by following election news as closely as they can.
“I want people to make sure that their voice is heard and also make sure that young people know that they have a voice for our country, deciding who is going to run it because it’s not just going to impact later generations. It’s going to impact us too,” Reilly said.
The drive closed on October 11th, and registered students are now ready to vote on election day, November 5.
“Go out and vote, especially in the midterms, not just every four years for the presidential elections,” Harvey said.
