Gianna Cilluffo ‘22
Amelia Cabral ‘22
Abigail Gallo ‘22
Local elections took place on November fifth and student awareness of the issues at hand was varied.
“Of course [it’s important to vote],” states Kris Aldrige, senior dean, “It’s a civic duty.”
Senior voting participation, however, varied from student to student. Sarah Huang ‘20 said, “I kind of forgot that elections were coming up.” To vote in the election, students must register a month in advance, and some students at EA were unaware of this fact.
The ones that were aware however, were unsure of their next course of action. Nick Bates ‘20 explained, “I didn’t even know when to [register] or where to.”
The reality of local elections is that there is often much less turn out than wide-scale national elections, and even then, young voters do not usually have as high of a turn out. Rahul Khullar ‘20 said, “I didn’t realize what was happening. I’ll probably vote in the next general election though, or in the primaries.” All students interviewed agreed that they would vote in the 2020 presidential elections, but interest in local politics generally increases with age.
Many students, in contrast, do genuinely keep up with and have an interest in politics. EA has clubs such as the Young Democrats and Young Republicans, where students can not only learn about current and past political issues, but also debate and form their own opinions on pressing topics. Huang says, “To the extent that I hear them (local politics) on the radio, I follow them.”
But lack of knowledge can dissuade young voters from going out to the polls. Charlie Barton ‘20 explains, “I just don’t follow politics that well and I wasn’t educated so I didn’t feel qualified to vote.”
Regardless of political associations, local elections help to shape the community surrounding EA, and a few students and faculty members have personal experience in politics. Robert Trumbull, for example, was previously a Haverford Township commissioner. Madeline Ott ‘22 also got to experience the backside of elections, as her mother, Kelly Eckel, ran for and won the judge seat in Delaware County. Ott explains, “I learned a lot about how the whole process works, and became a lot more aware of all the politics in my community. I received positive responses and support during and after the election, in regard to my mom’s campaign. I think having a lot of candidates with ties to EA really made our community more involved.” Ott also volunteered to help her mother’s campaign by canvassing and encouraging students over 18 to vote.
Michael Morgan, father of Ned Morgan ‘20 and Eric Morgan ‘22, also ran for office as a Republican, along with Barbarann Keffer, mother of Rae Keffer-Scharpf ‘20 and Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf ‘ 23, who, as a Democrat, was elected Mayor of Upper Darby.
Although local elections have already had a profound impact on some members of the EA community, they could have a greater response if there was more knowledge available to young voters. Students are encouraged to learn more about local elections happening in their county. As the 2020 elections grow nearer, eligible students should be sure to register in advance and vote.