Johnstown's first voter registration road trip aims to boost local participation

The Great Johnstown Voter Registration Road trip made its way through the city for the first time on Saturday.

Volunteers from several Pittsburgh-based organizations traveled to Johnstown, where they met up with local leaders, including NAACP President Alan Cashaw. He explained that he invited the volunteers to meet at the Rosedale marker in Johnstown, which commemorates a significant event in the town's history, to bridge the gap between the visitors and residents as they both work towards the same goal.

"If we want every citizen to be able to participate in our great democracy, we get them to vote. The gateway to voting is first to register. We want to get that done and then get folks out to vote," said Cashaw.

From there, the volunteers split into groups and traveled to three different locations in Johnstown: Coopersdale, Oakhurst, and Solomon Homes. Amy Raslevich, who lives in Pittsburgh and created the Great Johnstown Voter Registration Road Trip, said that being registered to vote in a small town is just as important as it is in a big city.

"We just want to make sure that we can maximize the number of people who have the opportunity to vote and access to vote," said Raslevich. "I think for Pittsburgh, we are pretty well covered in terms of getting folks registered and having plans to vote. We want to make sure that in Johnstowneverybody has a chance to vote."

By the end of the day, Raslevich said that the groups were able to register over a dozen Johnstown residents and verify the registration status of over a dozen more. She said that the volunteers were focused on bipartisanship, adding that just registering to vote can make your community a better place.

"Coalitions like this and collaborations like this make such a difference. Many hands make light work, even though we have a lot of differences. I think there are so many similarities and building up stronger communities should be something that we're all for," explained Raslevich.

Cashaw added that your vote always makes a difference no matter who you choose in November.

"Go out and vote. Let this be the democracy it is. You go out and make the decision as to who's going to represent us and vote," he said.

The deadline to register to vote is October 21.Visit the or register in person at your county elections office.