Vote: Have Your Voices Heard This Nov. 4 Election Day

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 4 and although it’s not a presidential election year, it’s still an important event. It’s an opportunity for people’s voices to be heard, particularly when it comes to local communities.

Dr. Paul Adams, associate professor of political science and director of civic education for The League of Women Voters of Westmoreland County, said it’s particularly important for students to get out and vote.

“Younger voters sometimes drop off and don’t vote in these elections, where older people are more likely to vote in every election. Part of that is that many younger voters don’t know how important local, county, and state government are to them,” Dr. Adams said. 

This year, with the state budget at an impasse and with various judicial seats up for grabs, Dr. Adams says students can be directly impacted by what happens at the polls. 

“The state budget is going to start impacting Pitt, because we haven’t gotten our own appropriations from the state yet. PHEAA grants are now impacted and some students have some money taken away or uncredited from their account to some extent because PHEAA is not really full-time operating right now,” Dr. Adams said. 

In other instances, students and their families are being affected by job cuts tied to political decision-making.

“County government here had to furlough almost 100 employees just a couple of weeks ago because of the budget impasse,” Dr. Adams said. 

For these reasons and more, Dr. Adams wants to encourage all Pitt-Greensburg students to get out the vote. 

Voting begins at 7 a.m. and concludes at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Anyone in line by 8 p.m. is  eligible to vote. Most polling places can be found at schools, churches, public libraries, local government offices, and so many more. To find a polling place near you, visit vote.pa.gov for more information.