Village Clerks seek out young voters at Harlem High

By Melanie Bradley
Editor

MACHESNEY PARK – Loves Park Village Clerk Bob Burden and Machesney Park Village Clerk Lori Mitchell teamed up to get Harlem High School students who will be 18 before the April election registered to vote last Friday.
The duo set up a registration table in the Harlem cafeteria during lunch hours.
“Getting people to vote is our mission,” Mitchell said. “It’s what we do.
“It’s always our goal to encourage residents to vote!  It is especially exciting to register new voters and encourage them to do their part in local government!
“They can start doing their part by voting in the upcoming Consolidated Election on April 7.”
She said they were pleased with the response at Harlem.
“We usually get about 15, but we’ve already had 11 in the first lunch hour.”
Both said the students were very enthusiastic about being able to vote for the first time.
Harlem senior Monica Gross was among the teens who got registered.
“I think it’s important because it’s our civic duty,” she said. “It helps the government, locally and nationwide.
“It’s important to know about the candidates and not to just vote. You should voice your opinion about who should be running our government.”