Letters to the Editor | Nov. 1, 2024

This election, millennials and Gen Z together will form the largest and most diverse voting bloc in history, representing nearly one-fifth of the electorate. With more than 40 million Gen Z voters, including eight million newly eligible since 2022, our collective power is immense. As our generation confronts the realities of gun violence, student debt, attacks on the LGBTQ community, pollution, and climate change, it’s clear young people in Pennsylvania must make their voices heard this Election Day.

We hold the power to drive real change. By making a voting plan, we can directly influence decisions that impact our lives and future. Check your polling location, gather any necessary documents, and ensure you’re prepared to vote. And embrace the power of community — reach out to friends and family to discuss their voting plans and encourage them to participate. Our strength lies in our ability to mobilize together. Let’s seize this moment and act by making a concrete voting plan before heading out to vote on Tuesday.

Cortney Bouse, Pennsylvania state director, NextGen America

When you show up to vote Tuesday, you’ll be greeted outside your polling place by committeepeople from both parties. You may be fired up for your candidates and eager to make it known. That’s fine, but please save your passions and opinions for the voting booth. Don’t take it out on us. We’re your neighbors, not your enemy. We’ll be here this election, and the next one. Sure, we’ll try to hand you sample ballots you don’t want or need. But our main job is to help you.

We get asked, “What table do I go to? Do I need to show ID? Can you explain the ballot questions to me? Can you tell me more about this candidate?” We have the answers. For questions about a candidate from a party that’s not ours, we’ll direct you to a colleague who is. Democratic and Republican committeepeople work together as a team on Election Day to make your voting experience better.

On your way out, we’ll thank you for showing up and doing your civic duty, no matter who you voted for. And if issues arise that we can’t solve, we have numbers to call for whatever kind of help is needed. So thank you in advance for voting in person and making your voice heard by pushing the machine’s buttons — not ours.

Paul Kaplan, Philadelphia

Pennsylvania voters are guaranteed to be shortchanged in the 2024 presidential election. Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C., have a combined population of almost 13 million and 42 Electoral College votes. Pennsylvania has roughly 13 million residents but only 19 Electoral College votes. In a series of 1960s decisions that can be summarized as “one person, one vote,” the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against states that gave their rural residents more electoral power than their urban ones. Yet the Electoral College, an 18th-century election albatross, has already trumped the popular vote twice this century, in 2000 and 2016, violating the one person, one vote principle. The Electoral College shouldn’t be allowed to undermine a third.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

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