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(Ellie Sileo\/B&W Staff)<\/p>\nThis fall, Lehigh political organizations have been addressing student voting issues through their events and outreach, educating students on the importance of the upcoming midterm election and their vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baylee Baker, \u201828, is in her second year-long term as president of the Lehigh College Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baker said the organization holds events to help engage students and strengthen their voter literacy. Some of these events involve \u201cdecoding\u201d the ballot for attendees\u00a0 and requiring voter registration and a plan to vote to attend to enter and participate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sammy Petras, \u201829, is the treasurer and marketing chair of Lehigh College Democrats alongside Baker. Petras said she makes signs for voter registration events to inform people about the midterm election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Petras also serves as\u00a0 election point person for Students Demand Action, coordinating events regarding the upcoming election and helping register people to vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students Demand Action is a nonpartisan organization promoting gun safety legislation and gun violence prevention through legislation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In her role, Petras emphasizes the importance of registering to vote in Northampton County, part of Pennsylvania\u2019s 7th Congressional District.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re one of the most competitive districts in both Pennsylvania and in the country as a whole,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we register more students here, then they have a larger, louder voice in this election than they do compared to if they were to register at their home location.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Ellie Sileo\/B&W Staff)<\/p>\n
Being from Texas, Baker said Northampton County is unique because it\u2019s a swing district with politically engaged residents that frequently organize. She said she doesn\u2019t see this often in her home state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur votes matter a lot more (here) than they might in a county that\u2019s fully red or fully blue,\u201d Baker said. \u201cGenuinely a handful of people could be the decision between which house representative gets elected. (Political activism) is very strong here and I really like it. I think it also builds a bigger sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she believes the most important issues facing the Bethlehem community right now include immigration and ICE, policies impacting international students and data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lehigh College Democrats has been working to reach a wider student population to educate them. Baker said thinks students are getting their information on candidates and community issues mostly through social media, students living off-campus and campaign mail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With similar goals, Students Demand Action tabled at the Bethlehem Farmers Market two different weeks\u00a0 to inform people what a Gun Sense Candidate<\/a> is and answer voter registration inquiries.\u00a0<\/p>\n The group has also posted resources on their social media and gone door-to-door to inform people of the importance of this midterm election.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial media is a very nasty place and this race is very intense,\u201d Baker said.\u201d \u201cThey\u2019re not necessarily playing nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She also said the campaign mail pertaining to the PA-07 congressional race has included targeted negative speech between the candidates. She said this is an issue because the negativity is being delivered right to someone\u2019s doorstep.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like voter literacy is a little bit on the poorer side right now,\u201d Baker said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s not a presidential election, there\u2019s not as much big news about it and not as many people are talking about it,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n Other student leaders believe the political climate has also made it difficult to converse with peers who may hold opposing views.\u00a0<\/p>\n Angel Casta\u00f1eda, \u201827, serves as president of Lehigh\u2019s Students for Life club and an executive board member of Bridge Lehigh. BridgeUSA was founded on Lehigh\u2019s campus to begin programming spring 2026, according to its Instagram. The multipartisan club is part of a national organization, BridgeUSA, which aims to fight political division.<\/p>\n Similarly, Casta\u00f1eda said he hopes to encourage more open political discussions among students.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casta\u00f1eda considers himself a conservative but not a Republican. He said expressing political beliefs on campus in general can be challenging.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said Students for Life has received negative comments on Instagram, which he believes can contribute to the lack of political conversations at Lehigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone has to step up to be the conservative voice on campus,\u201d Casta\u00f1eda said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although he is originally from Texas, like Baker, he said he plans to vote in Pennsylvania in this year\u2019s midterm election and has been doing so for the last three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casta\u00f1eda also encouraged students to research candidates and their policies before voting, pointing to Ballotpedia<\/a>, as a way to learn more about the candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Baker said she has talked to peers who didn\u2019t know who Bob Brooks and Ryan Mackenzie were and said this reflects a broader voter literacy crisis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She said part of the inspiration behind the events she organizes for Lehigh College Democrats is preventing misinformation around local elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n Petras said Students Demand Action is working with Donuts + Democracy<\/a> on election day,\u00a0 giving out donuts outside the church on Vine Street, the poll location for many Lehigh students registered in Northampton County.<\/p>\n