Brown and White Vol. 133 no. 16

              The Brown and White Vol. 133 No. 16
Friday, November 3, 2017 ‘All the Lehigh News First’
Low turnout expected for local elections
By MARISSA MCCLOY
Designer
Election Day is Nov. 7. Based
on trends, the local election will
likely see low voter turnout from
community members and Lehigh
students alike.
Local elections historically have
low voter turnout. Only 21 per-cent
of Northampton County’s
total population voted in 2015.
In order to cast a ballot in the
local election, each voter must
be registered in Pennsylvania 30
days prior to Nov. 7. Polls will be
POLLING LOCATIONS FOR NOV. 7
open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“Local elections are important
because there is lower voter turn-out,
so you have a lot of say if you
do vote,” said Emma Stevenson,
’18, the president of Lehigh’s
chapter of College Democrats.
Some students might want to
vote Tuesday but can’t because
they are not registered in
Pennsylvania. Stevenson said
most members of her organization
are voting in their home elections
using absentee ballots.
“You should care about the com-munity
you’re living in and the
Sara Boyd/B&W Staff
The Lehigh College Democrats held a screening of “An Inconvenient Sequel” with a panel discussion Wednesday in Maginnes Hall. The elections for local offices in Bethlehem, which will be
held Nov. 7, have historically had low voter turnout from Bethlehem residents and Lehigh students.
South Bethlehem area,” she said.
“But it’s up to you personally
because some people feel strongly
about voting at home.”
President of Lehigh’s chapter
of College Republicans, Matthew
O’Brien, ’20, said he thinks many
of the members of his organi-zation,
or at least those who
know about the election, will vote
Tuesday.
“We have a lot of freshmen this
year so they may not be aware
that they are able to vote in
Pennsylvania,” O’Brien said.
He said ensuring Lehigh stu-dents
know they can register to
vote in Pennsylvania is something
his club is working on.
O’Brien said Bethlehem elec-tions
will affect Lehigh, consider-ing
Lehigh’s partnership with and
expansion into the South Side.
Even though local elections have
a direct impact on the communi-ty,
some students choose not to
participate.
“Students are a part of the com-munity,
so the results of the local
election directly affect them,” said
See ELECTION Page 4
INSIDE: WHO’S
ON THE
BALLOT?
Designed by Anna Simoneau SEE PAGE 2
Tuesday, Nov.
7 is election
day in the
United States
this year.
First-time
voters in PA
must provide
some form of
identification,
like a driver’s
license.