Today, The League of Women Voters visited HHS to encourage students to register to vote. The League promotes voting for all people eligible, despite race, class, or religion.

Irma McIntosh Coleman led the event Tuesday afternoon. McIntosh Coleman is a retired teacher and principal, and is a current state commissioner for Minnesota. She has served for the Hopkins School Board for the past eight years, and is ending her term this December.

“We hope to make kids more conscious [about voting],” McIntosh Coleman said. “We want them to understand the issues: the who and the what. We want them to say what they stand for.”

Students between the ages of 17 ½  and 18 were handed registration sheets to vote in the upcoming Nov. 3 elections. Students under the age requirement were still encouraged to take a sheet to prepare for the 2016 presidential election.

Despite their young age, McIntosh Coleman believes students are responsible for choosing their future leaders.

“I don’t think age matters,” McIntosh Coleman said. “Now is the time for students to vote. They use what they know now to use later in life. The country is in their hands.”

McIntosh Coleman hopes the League sheds light on the importance of teamwork and success.

“I work for the League of Women Voters because it shows the importance of groups and working together. That’s what’s really important.”

For more information about candidates and their ideologies, students and parents can visit www.lwvmeph.org. For registration information, they can visit www.mnvotes.org.