Senior Lucy van Harskamp created a voter registration event for students turning 18 this year to help people understand the importance of voting. If you are turning 18 or are 18 before April 23, then you are able to participate in this year’s primary election. 

The event will be held the first Tuesday of every month until May, and a table will be set up in the cafeteria for all lunches. This is also where you can get more information on voting and registering online. 

Other options for registration include going to room 129 to register from 2:30 – 3 p.m. every first Tuesday as well. All you need is your driver’s license or the last 4 digits of your social security number.

Van Harskamp created this event after learning about the extremely low voter turn out among young voters. 

“I wanted to create something that would allow students to register and hopefully make them more inclined to participate in upcoming elections,” she said. 

This event is also an opportunity for students to learn more about the election process. 

“I wanted to create a safe space for people to engage in politics without the highly divided nature of our political climate” she said. 

Ten people registered just this past Tuesday, Feb. 6. The volunteers at this event are instructed to be completely neutral to prevent personal beliefs from getting in the way of participation. The last day to register for the primary election is April 8, meaning the last day of this event will be April 2. 

After April 2,  you will be able to vote in the presidential election in November. The PA primary election is a closed election, meaning that you will only be able to vote for people in your registered party. This is not the case for the presidential election, where you can vote for either party no matter what you are registered under.