Elected officials and civic leaders visited Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School on Tuesday to encourage students who are eligible to register to vote and participate in the Nov. 5 election.
The event was the first stop on the Philly Rises back-to-school bus tour, which aims to engage young people in the electoral process, and featured spirited performances from the Dobbins band and cheerleaders.
“This age group – 18 to 35 – is going to determine who’s going to be the president of the United States,” Omar Sabir, chair of the City Commissioners, told students gathered in the North Philadelphia school’s auditorium.
PA Youth Vote, a nonpartisan organization, presented students with information about elections, and young people had the opportunity to register to vote, apply for a mail-in ballot and sign up to be poll workers.
Dobbins Principal Shervon Thompson asked her pupils to think about how they can vote; why they should vote; and the effect voting can have on themselves, their families and their neighbors.
“Voting is very important,” she said. “As you are listening, please make sure you are answering those questions.”
Similar drives over the past two years have resulted in 8,000 students registering to vote at more than 35 schools, according to the City Commissioners Office, which oversees elections in Philadelphia. Younger people have historically voted at lower rates compared older age groups.
Pennsylvania is again set to play an integral role in the presidential race. There is also a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat on the ballot, along with a host of other statewide and local positions.
“More than just the U.S. president is on the ballot,” City Controller Christy Brady said. “It is important that you maximize your voice by voting down the ballot on Election Day.”
In addition to Brady, the students heard from state Sen. Sharif Street, City Councilmembers Nina Ahmad and Jeffrey Young and representatives from the School District of Philadelphia, NAACP, Committee of 70 and Black Men Vote.
“I am someone who’s lived through a war,” said Ahmad, who grew up in Bangladesh. “That war was driven by young people. Young people decided the fate of the small country I come from. You have the power sitting in this room to decide the fate of our city, our state and our country.”
Not voting is also a choice that can have consequences, speakers explained to the young people.
“Elected officials pay very close attention to who votes, and that is oftentimes how they prioritize where their resources, where their time, where their attention is going to be spent,” said Angelique Hinton, executive director of PA Youth Vote. “And so when you are not voting, you are oftentimes not going to be the priority of elected officials.”
Sabir noted that students as young as 17 on Election Day can volunteer to work the polls and earn up to $295. For more information about how to become a poll worker, go to vote.phila.gov.
The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election is Oct. 21. Pennsylvania residents can register online at pavoterservices.pa.gov. Philadelphians can also apply in-person at the Voter Registration Office, located at 520 N. Columbus Blvd. or at City Hall, Room 142.
In addition, applications are available at post offices, library branches and state liquor stores. Anyone can call the City Commissioners at 215-686-1590 and request an application be sent to their house.
Mail-in ballots can be requested until Oct. 29. Residents can apply online at pavoterservices.pa.gov or pick up an application at City Hall, Room 142, during normal business hours.
