Congressman Peter DeFazio came to the University of Oregon on Monday to tour the new EMU and campaign for the upcoming November election. Congressman DeFazio was joined by State Representatives Phil Barnhart and Val Hoyle to encourage students to vote in this contentious election.
“Students should vote like their future depends on it because it does,” Congressman DeFazio said. “If you have real concerns about your future then you need to vote.”
Other state representatives took the stage to further express their reasons for how important this upcoming election cycle is and why student votes are crucial. The representatives all campaigned heavily for the democratic party and pushed the importance of students voting.
“It is critical for my re-election that we get students to come out and vote,” representative Barnhart said. “We have to get a turnout of over 50,000 extra votes for democrats in Lane County in order to elect our statewide office holders.”
“Today, I am here to tell you that your voice matters,” representative Hoyle said to the crowd. “It is important because Lane County is a swing district in a swing state and we need to get out the vote.”
The event had a moderate sized crowd show up to hear the state representatives give their piece about why people should vote for progressive candidates. The crowd was mostly filled with supporters, but near the end a member of the audience heckled congressman DeFazio about his stance on the wars in the Middle East. DeFazio responded by stating he was against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and promptly left the event.
The Oregon ballots are being mailed out to voters. Local and presidential elections will be held on Nov. 8.