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DALLAS — Sen. Lisa Baker Tuesday returned to her alma mater, Dallas High School, to answer questions from students interested in registering to vote.
Baker, R-Lehman Township, and Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, were there to help Luzerne County Councilman Patrick Bilbow in his effort to get more students registered and involved in the electoral process.
After all, Baker said it was at Dallas High School where she first became interested in government and politics. Baker credited her civics teacher, the late Jerry Stinson, for inspiring her to choose her career path. Baker has been in government for 32 years, 13 years as a state senator and nearly 20 years serving in various positions in government.
“This is fantastic,” Baker said of Bilbow’s voter registration initiative. “I’m all for speaking to students, answering their questions and hopefully inspiring them to get involved.”
Baker said when her son, Carson, turned 18, she gave him a birthday card with a voter registration form inside.
“We need to do all we can to get young people involved in the process,” Baker said.
Bilbow said Dallas is the first high school he has visited to present his initiative that aims to provide voter registration information to high school students throughout Luzerne County. He said he and county officials want to ensure that the information is readily available to students who are interested and qualified.
The voter registration drives will be held during lunch periods at each school. He said he will be at Lake-Lehman on Wednesday.
“It is essential that we get our young citizens engaged in local and national politics; their voices matter,” Bilbow said.
The last day to register to vote in the 2019 general election is Monday, Oct. 7. Bilbow said he will visit as many high schools as he can this week to encourage students to register.
Boback said she was pleased to see the schools getting involved.
“This is the time for young people to get involved,” Boback said. “Everything builds on this.”Boback said.
Students register
Several Dallas students took the time to register to vote and they expressed how they felt about the importance of voting.
Nathan Collins, 18 of Kingston Township, said every person’s vote counts.
“In 2020, there will be races in Congress and for president,” Collins said. “It’s important for everybody to get out and vote, especially younger people. I’m looking forward to voting this November.”
Joey Sabatini, 18 of Dallas, said everyone should take the opportunity to voice their opinion,
“And they have to be informed,” he said. “We all have to do what we feel is best for the country. Some of my classmates don’t take the time to get informed. They have to understand and realize the importance of voting.”
Gwyn Cruz of Dallas will turn 18 in October — in time to vote in November. She registered on Tuesday.
“It’s important for our generation to make sure our voices are heard,” she said. “We are the future and we should have a say in our future. We want to shape it to benefit us.”
Thomas Bolesta will turn 18 on Friday.
“With everything going on in this day and age, it’s extremely important for the students to get involved,” Bolesta said. “We need to get informed and get out and vote.”
Chris Plaviak teaches social studies at Dallas. He brought his Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class to the registration to help out.
“We talk a lot about how voting is important for students and for all citizens,” Plaviak said. “They need to get their voices heard.”
Bilbow said as a principal and as a councilman, he hears from many students asking how they could get involved.
”My goal is that these students register, vote and continue to vote over their lifetime,” he said.
Bilbow’s effort comes soon after the Department of State launched a statewide initiative and Bilbow stressed that this is not a partisan issue and he was inspired after seeing that voter turnout continues to decline in Luzerne County and across the nation.
“I don’t care if these kids vote Republican, Democrat, Green, independent or anything else. I just want them to vote,” Bilbow said. “When I saw that the 2016 presidential election had a 20-year low in voter turnout, I knew I had to do something.”
For more information on how to register, visit www.luzernecounty.org/417/Register-to-Vote, or register.votesPA.com.
