2-3 Final 2

THE SIDEKICK 3
PUPPY LOVE IN PANDEMIC P. 4 CLASSROOMS TO BREAKOUT ROOMS P. 4 ADVOCACY THROUGH ACTING P. 5
Conducting local elections during pandemic

Partisan, nonpartisan candidates on same ballot for first time in city history
Shivi Sharma
Executive News Editor
@_shivisharma_
“I vote in every election because...”

Each of the over 100 letters Cop-
pell parent and former 2018 Coppell
ISD Board of Trustees candidate Dan
Koller signed as part of Vote Forward, a
nonpartisan initiative that encourages
people to vote by mailing letters, have
this prompt for volunteers to write a
personalized message.
Before mailing every letter, Koller
writes, “the more people exercise their
right to vote, the better our democracy
works for all of us.”
In Coppell, City Secretary Chris-
tel Pettinos thinks despite the pan-
demic, the Presidential Election will
bring a significant turnout. This
could also increase participation in
nonpartisan, local elections such as
the City Council and Coppell ISD
Board of Trustees.
Both elections, which were sched-
uled for May, were postponed to No- Coppell resident Dan Koller has written over 100 postcards since July as part of Postcards to Swing States,
vember due to the coronavirus pan- an initiative encouraging voter participation in the 2020 election. Postcards to Swing States is a nonpartisan
demic. For the first time in Coppell’s initiative that encourages people to vote in 14 swing states, including Texas. Photo by Lilly Gorman
history, these nonpartisan elections
will be on the same ballot as parti- There are three candidates running The last day to register to vote is vote in local elections, because you’ve
san elections, all the way up to the for Place 5: Jim Walker, Erin Bog- Oct. 5, with early voting from Oct. 13- got this small amount of voters mak-
presidential ballot. danowicz and John Jun. Place 4 is 30. The early voting window is a week ing big decisions,” Coppell Republican
“In a positive light, you’re go- the only contested position on the longer than in years’ past due to Gov- Women Club President Kit Whitehill
ing to have a great turnout, because CISD Board of Trustees, with in- ernor Greg Abbott’s bill to allow regis- said. “Our city council, our school
you do usually have a larger turnout cumbent Thom Hulme running tered voters a longer duration to cast board, those are all very important
during presidential elections,” Pet- against Neena Biswas. their ballots. Dallas County allows for jobs, and the decisions they make im-
tinos said. “However, I don’t know “That’s what’s so beautiful about countywide voting, which means that pact our day-to-day lives. There’s no
that everyone is aware that local gov- our country, everyone has an oppor- voters can vote at any polling location more straight-ticket voting, so you can’t
ernment is nonpartisan. We always tunity, as a citizen, to vote and have in the county during the early voting just push Republican or Democrat, you
say, ‘a pothole does not have a party their voices heard,” CISD adminis- window and on Election Day, Nov. 3. have to vote for every person you want
affiliation’. A concern that I have, is trative assistant to superintendent The Coppell Town Center, and to vote for.”
that with voting machines, by the Carol Snowden said. “When you get for the first time, the Arts Center in To ensure safety at polling locations
time voters scroll through all of the down to looking at a school board Old Town, will be the city’s two poll- during the pandemic, the city will pro-
ballot, they will lose energy when member, those are the overseers for ing locations during the early voting vide sanitation stations and train its
they get to the bottom of the ballot, the public school system within that window. On Nov. 3, five CISD schools judges and clerks to conduct the facili-
which is where the school and the city. It’s very important to have in- will also be open for voters: Wilson ty in the safest manner possible. Lines
city ballots tend to be.” terested, active, attentive, strong Elementary, Mockingbird Elemen- are required to be six feet apart, and
On the Coppell City Council, community members who want to tary, Cottonwood Creek Elementa- cleaning services will be provided.
Places 3 and 5 are up for election. serve, because it is a thankless, un- ry, Lakeside Elementary and Valley
For Place 3, incumbent Wes Mays paid volunteer job that they do and Ranch Elementary. SHIVI ‘21 can be reached at
is running against Davin Bernstein. they work hard.” “It’s very sad that not many people [email protected].
Graphic by Shivi Sharma
Twitter: @CHSCampusNews Instagram: thesidekickcoppell Facebook: Sidekick Online

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THE SIDEKICK 3

PUPPY LOVE IN PANDEMIC P. 4 CLASSROOMS TO BREAKOUT ROOMS P. 4 ADVOCACY THROUGH ACTING P. 5

Conducting local elections during pandemic

“I vote in every election because...”

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews Instagram: thesidekickcoppell Facebook: Sidekick Online

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