Letter to the editor: Young people know the election stakes

There is a growing trend of Republican retirements in the Pennsylvania Legislature. From Joe Scarnati to Mike Turzai to local representatives, it’s clear that something is sending career Republicans packing in 2020.

Each time members of the GOP decide against filing reelection papers, it’s an opportunity for voters to ask ourselves: What do we want out of our representatives? What sort of delegation do we deserve?

Do we want our state government to continually propose rigid anti-choice legislation? To prioritize the gun lobby over the safety of schoolchildren? Will we do nothing as our most vulnerable people are kicked off essential services? What will we do while the nation watches how Pennsylvania votes?

Young people recognize that it matters who represents us. It matters if political differences amount to whether or not we have equal rights, whether we are burdened with student debt, and whether we may live to see a future with clean air and water and essential environmental protections guaranteed.

Young people know the stakes. That’s why young voters organized and mobilized in record numbers in 2018. We must be prepared to do it again.

Voting is the single most effective way of taking charge of our futures. In Pennsylvania, you must be registered with party affiliation in order to vote in the closed primary. This means that you must be registered with a party by April 13 to vote on April 28. Let’s make these retirements mean something: Flip the General Assembly blue come November.

Larissa Sweitzer

Bloomfield