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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

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Vote to change U.S. for the better

In print | March 6, 2008

To the Editor:

STAFF EDITORIAL

Amid the panic of midterm season, it can be hard to think about much beyond this coming Friday, let alone beyond spring break. But there are two very important dates coming up which require a little bit of planning ahead. One is the Pennsylvania primary, which will be held on April 22. The other is March 24, the voter registration deadline for anyone who wants to participate in the primary.

As citizens, students, Democrats and supporters of Barack Obama, we have been working extremely hard to ensure that every student who is eligible to vote in PA can be registered for April’s primaries. Having a large student turnout at the polls will not just help our chosen candidate as it will help give a voice to students and young people who are consistently viewed as an unimportant part of the political process. For Democrats especially, this year’s primary is the most important in decades, and we want everyone, no matter whom they support, to get involved in the process of choosing the Presidential candidate.

Swarthmore students, first-years and seniors included, are eligible to vote in this state. In order to vote on April 22, you need to be 1) registered to vote in Pennsylvania and 2) registered as a Democrat or Republican. If you registered before as an Independent or with no party affiliation at all, you will not be allowed to vote in the primaries, so take this opportunity to change your registration and make your voice heard. If you previously registered at Swarthmore but have changed precincts by moving on- or off-campus since then (off-campus residences include ML, PPR and Strath Haven) you should re-register. Finally, if you are registered in another state but haven’t voted in a primary this year, you can change your registration to PA with no penalty whatsoever.

We’ve had great success storming the dorms and tabling in Sharples, and will be continuing to do so right up until the registration deadline to make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate in the primaries. In order to meet our goal of 100 percent participation, we need all the help we can get, now and on election day. There are many ways you can volunteer, no matter what your party affiliation.

Please let us know at swarthmoreforobama@sccs.swarthmore.edu if you are interested in creating an engaged, involved Swarthmore campus. Questions? Comments? Contact Nate Allen (nallen1) or Finlay Logan (flogan1).

Nate Allen ’08
Finlay Logan ’08

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