High school students in the Pittsburgh area are working to get their peers registered to vote ahead of the Oct. 21 deadline.
Nine schools across Allegheny and Beaver counties are holding student-led voter registration this week with support from youth civic education organizations The Civics Center and PA Youth Vote.
Westinghouse Academy senior Faith Jackson, who helped register some of her fellow students on Tuesday, said it’s important for peers to encourage each other to participate in the election process.
“Coming from someone their age who has been civically engaged with different things, like being able to make a change myself, it can be like a motivator for them to make their own change.”
Jackson got involved with PA Youth Vote through their Team Captain program, where students work with Westinghouse teachers to provide civic engagement opportunities for youth.
Though she won’t be eligible to vote on Nov. 5, Jackson said she cares about having her fellow students' voices heard and feels that there is a lot at stake for her community — violence and homelessness are two issues she’s particularly concerned with.
“It's definitely nerve-wracking because I know a lot is on the line, and I can't even utilize my vote to pick who I want to be president,” said Jackson, “which is why I'm spreading the word to the other people my age, because a lot of the issues that are on the line affect them, too.”
A majority of Westinghouse seniors won’t be 18 by Election Day, but the effort had registered 12 students on Tuesday.
As of September, youth voter registration rates across the country were falling behind pace of the 2020 election, according to a report from the Massachusetts-based Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Analysis shows 15% fewer 18 to 29-year-old Pennsylvanians were registered in September compared to the total on Election Day 2020, with an even more significant gap for 18 to 19-year-olds at 40%.
Regina Hudson, chair of Westinghouse’s history department, has been working closely with PA Youth Vote to bring civic education and engagement into classrooms and the community. Despite a perception of apathy around teenagers, she said her students are eager to participate.
“I think that part of the popular opinion of young people is that they're disengaged and they're uninterested, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Our students are pretty fired up about it. This election is going to be highly impactful for all of us,” said Hudson.
She said classes like ninth grade civics have been using visual materials to learn about candidates and break down issues, but stressed the importance of remaining nonpartisan as an educator.
“A lot of times they resent the fact when they feel as though they're being steered in one way or another. And I just tell them that ‘I respect you as intellectuals. You know how the government works. And so whoever you choose to vote for, as long as you are participating in local and national elections’,” Hudson said.
Beyond the election, she said she’s encouraged students to lean into issues they’re passionate about and find other ways to get involved in the civic process, like writing letters to their representatives. They’re also working on starting a student podcast, she said.
“We've just tried to meet them at different entry points,” Hudson said.
Students at Beaver Area High School are also becoming more civically engaged. They held the district's first ever voter registration drive on Tuesday with help from The Civics Center.
“There was so much enthusiasm around participating in this process. And I don't think that I've seen that before in the student body,” said Aimee Firmani, an English and American Literature teacher at Beaver High School who helped facilitate the drive. “And so that was pretty exciting and just very special to be a part of.”
Student members of the school’s Social Handprints Overcoming Unjust Treatment (SHOUT) club, which focuses on social issues and community service, ran the drive after participating in a training from The Civics Center. They also emailed registration information to parents and shared it with classmates through social media.
Senior Quinn O’Leary, one of the student leaders, has been interested in political issues since she was in middle school in 2020 and joined SHOUT. Wearing a shirt that says “VOTE” in large black letters, she recalled a memory from when she wore the same shirt in 8th grade.
“I went to school and one of my teachers was like, ‘Well, why are you wearing that shirt when you can't vote, Quinn?’ and I was like, ‘Well, you can vote,” said O’Leary.
Now, she can vote. In the midst of helping her peers register on Tuesday, she said she also filled out the form. She feels that her ballot carries even more weight voting in a swing state, and said she wants to encourage her peers to understand why their voice matters, too.
“18-year-olds, I think it's widely assumed they're like, ‘Well, why do we vote when our politicians aren't actually addressing these issues for us?’” said O’Leary. “It's because if we're not voting, then we're not represented.”
Beaver will continue holding registration drives throughout the week, along with drives at CAPA, City Charter High School, Science and Technology Academy, and Upper St. Clair High School planned today.
