By Diana Leane, online managing editor
Volunteers from the League of Women Voters visited Prospect on Wednesday, Sept. 28. They ran a table during all lunch hours to help students register to vote.
According to volunteer Heidi Graham, the League of Women Voters has been around for 100 years, and the organization helped women gain the right to vote. Volunteers have visited Prospect and nearby high schools during previous elections, too.
Graham says the main goal of the visit was to ensure students had easy access to voter registration. Throughout the day, Graham and her volunteer counterpart –– Pat Lindner –– had registered around 17 voters.
However, more students sought out the table to discover they had already registered.
Senior Michael Kloser registered at the table. According to him, he planned to do so regardless, but the convenience of the table provided him with a way to register immediately.
He used one of the laptops at the table to sign up online on ova.elections.il.gov. Graham says people looking to register can also visit vote411.org.
Kloser hope all students who are eligible to vote do.
“[It’s important to vote] so you have a say in the election, [especially with] this election being as weird as it is,” Kloser said.
Due to legislation passed in Illinois earlier this year, more students are eligible. Previously, voters had to be 18 by the registration deadline, but now they just have to be 18 by election day.
Graham has a message for anyone who can vote but chooses not to.
“People have died for their right to vote,” Graham said. “Women have fought long and hard to have the right to vote. Minorities have long and hard to have the right to vote. The fact that we’re not voting is sad.”