By Lauren Ahern
On Wednesday, October 5, 2016 and Thursday, Oct. 6, Pima County Voter Registrars donated their time to encourage students and members of the Pueblo community (including all teachers and staff as well as students’ parents and relatives) to register to vote in order to cast their ballots on Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 8. Students must be at least 18 years old by Nov. 1 to be eligible to vote in this year’s election.
Ms. Cheri Bludau, a volunteer voter registrar, has been going to other high schools in the Tucson area, including Santa Rita, Palo Verde and Catalina, to encourage students and their schools’ communities to register to vote. There is a competition among the four schools to get the highest number of registered voters, and at last count on Thursday afternoon, Pueblo was far in the lead.
“I think it’s very important for our young people to become involved in the political process,” Bludau said. “After all, they are the future America, and they need to be aware of the policies that shape their state and their country now—and to decide whether or not to make changes to their state and their country.”
Ms. Mary Wallace, social studies and economics teacher, organized this event.
“This [voter registration] is real,” Wallace said. “It doesn’t make much sense to teach government and economics to students without putting some ‘real world’ activities and engagement out there for our students.”
One student who registered, “Dioney Corona, a senior, said, “I can’t wait to vote on November eighth. I am going to do my part to ensure that Trump doesn’t even come close to becoming the next president of the United States.”
Wallace added that—along with support from other teachers—she will stage a “mock” election for all students on Election Day, Nov. 8. More details will be given about this event in the near future.
“I’m proud of the number of students and adults who registered to vote the last few days,” Wallace said, “although I always wish that the numbers could be higher.”