Join Us
Why Pennsylvania Matters Most in 2024
A civic education forum about our central role in deciding the election
Tuesday, October 8, 6:30—8 p.m.
University Commons Great Room,
Arcadia University
450 S. Easton Rd., Glenside, PA
Open to the community - seating is limited
Presented by the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill and Arcadia University
Discover the power of YOUR vote
Hear from a diverse panel of experts
Learn about how the electoral system works
Missed the event? Watch the complete presentation, Why Pennsylvania Matters Most in 2024
About this free event
Enlightening members of the local electorate about their role, and their power, is the point of this forum. It will not be a debate about who should win. Instead, this panel of experts on our state’s electoral history and current politics will illuminate how our level of civic engagement — which groups of voters show up and which stay home — may decide who does win.
This presidential contest is on track to be decided in seven states – and, with its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the most populous of these battlegrounds. It has voted for the winner in the last four elections – although by extraordinarily narrow margins in 2016 (Donald Trump by 0.7 percentage points) and 2020 (Joe Biden by 1.2 points). Partisan control of the Senate could also hinge on the outcome of our state’s too-close-to-predict race. And yet only 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s eligible voters cast ballots in the Biden vs. Trump contest, meaning 18 states had better turnout four years prior.
Boosting Keystone State turnout in 2024 requires convincing millions of Pennsylvanians their votes matter — and, in a real sense, they’ll matter more than votes cast anywhere else. This is no more true than in Philadelphia and adjacent Montgomery County, where the turnout’s size has strong potential to tip a statewide result that could determine who is in the White House.
our distinguished Panel of experts
Panel Moderator, David Hawkings
David Hawkings, member of the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill, is a free-lance journalist, communications consultant, and experienced congressional expert. He has appeared as a guest commentator or analyst on many national news outlets including Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He is also the founding editor-in-chief of The Fulcrum, a digital news site covering American democratic reforms and was editor at Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call.
Angelique Hinton of Norristown, Pennsylvania, is the Executive Director of PA Youth Vote, which she started in 2021 to improve civic engagement by young Pennsylvanians, especially from non-white communities. She was previously a Vanguard client services executive for more than two decades.
Farah Jimenez of Chestnut Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia, has been the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Education Fund for eight years and is a political analyst who’s regularly on 6 ABC and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s opinion pages. She is also board chair of the online media nonprofit Broad +Liberty.
Samuel Katz of the West Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, is a historian, filmmaker and political analyst focused on Philadelphia. He was the Republican nominee for mayor in 1999 and 2003, and later ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but has since affiliated as both a Democrat and an independent. He currently serves as the Founder & Executive Producer at History Making Productions.
Amy Widestrom of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, is the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. She took the post in January of this year after having been a political science professor at Arcadia University since 2012 and department chair since 2018.
Hear from David Hawkings, journalist and 30-year congressional expert speak about the event that will feature a distinguished and diverse panel of experts will discuss the local electorate’s role, and their power in the upcoming Presidential election.
Angelique Hinton, Executive Director, PA Youth Vote and President of the Montgomery County NAACP, discusses racial injustice and the threat of long-standing rights being taken away and the importance of voting and civic engagement, especially for youth of color.
Farah Jimenez, Executive Director, Philadelphia Education Fund discusses the importance of civic education and the need to "bring the temperature down" in terms of our political discourse.
Sam Katz, Founder & Executive Producer, History Making Productions, speaks about the importance of voting and civic engagement in the local and global context. Katz also discusses the environmental and global water crisis that will make the current immigration issue look tame in comparison.
Amy Widestrom, Executive Director. League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania speaks about the importance of voting, civic education in the U.S., and the potential for young voters to get more involved.
Our Community Partners
More coming soon!
