To fight disinformation while raising awareness about the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, several community groups gathered at the Lemoyne Community Center on Saturday for a voter education rally.
Phyllis Waller, president of the League of Women Voters in Washington, said, “It’s your right to vote, and everyone should vote to have their voice heard.” Not every person or organization tells the truth. That’s part of the problem.”
To counter this, Waller and fellow league member Antoinette Fitch sat at a table inside a community center in East Washington on Saturday with voter registration forms, mail-in ballots and other election information.
“Disinformation seems to be very prominent in this election,” Fitch said.
The nonpartisan event was intended to engage young people who are apolitical and have never voted in advance of the November 8 election. Jojo Burgess, a Washington-based union organizer, said he believes the “lazy attitude” of young people is starting to change.
“We need to hold events like this to get young people to vote,” Burgess said. “Why does your vote matter and why do people want to suppress it?”
His 26-year-old daughter, Florida resident Emily Sherman, was asked for advice on which party to choose when she first registered to vote this year. Burgess, who appeared at multiple events, said her political party affiliation doesn’t matter as much as she cares about the policies proposed by candidates.
“She’s never been engaged, so it shocked me,” Burgess said, voting over abortion rights concerns after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June to overturn Roe v. Wade. He added that his daughter had registered for the purpose.
‘I’m starting to pay attention,’ he recounted what his daughter recently told him
There were other organizations that offered assistance beyond voting, including the Washington NAACP, the Washington County Gay Straight Alliance, and the Caulfield Justice Center.
A few feet away, Barbara Griffin, an attorney with the Allegheny County Bar Association Foundation, was assisting people with criminal records in expunging or applying for a pardon. She said those convicted of a misdemeanor or felony need a pardon to clear their criminal record, but those charged with a crime but not convicted or sentenced to five years Anyone with summary offenses above can have them erased. I want to remind the public that those who received it are no longer in prison.
Beyond the legal side of her job, Griffin will vote in this upcoming election regardless of how competitive the vote is because the outcome will ultimately have some impact on their lives. We encourage everyone to do this.
“There are other people on the ballot, and those positions are important,” Griffin said. “I stay hopeful for some reason. I stay hopeful and that’s why I’m here.”
Today is the last day to register to vote for the election, and November 1 is the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot. Voter registration applications must be submitted to your county elections office by 5 p.m. today. Otherwise, you can go to vote.pa.gov and register online before the deadline.
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