Rebecca Jozwiak | staff writer |

With the 2024 election cycle drawing to a close, Pittsburgh residents made their way to Acrisure Stadium for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s Early Voting Rally on Tuesday.

As the crowd settled into their spots, prominent figures such as Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Pennsylvania Deputy of Voter Protection for Election Administration Mary Gibson spoke.

“Our rights, our bodies, our futures are on the line,” Innamorato said. “Freedom is on the ballot.”

In her speech, Gibson emphasized Innamorato’s point by highlighting the importance of voting.

“We need to have every single one of you, your family and friends – every single one of [their] parents, family and friends to make a plan to vote, and exercise your right to vote,” Gibson said.

Many students attended the rally. According to the New York Times, 18% of American voters are still undecided on who to vote for in the upcoming election. Trisha Steinkopf, 58, gave advice on how undecided voters should proceed so close to the election.

“I’d say it’s important that [undecided voters] still ultimately make a decision and cast their vote,” Steinkopf said. “Because by sitting out, Trump could win. They need to really just take five minutes and compare the candidates and look at the fact sheets.”

Michael Casey, a 24-year-old student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, believes that undecided voters should cast their ballots not just for the present, but for the future.

“I believe 100% that [the public] should vote in a manner that protects our future,” Casey said.

He acknowledges that while he has ties to the Presbyterian Church and the seminary, Casey votes for his future – and not for the church.

“I’m saying this [in] my personal capacity, but I believe wholeheartedly that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the best candidates to stand for election and to stand to be the president and vice president of the United States of America, because they have integrity,” Casey said.

While Harris-Walz supporters urge the public to vote in this upcoming election, Walz also took the time to lay out Harris’s plans for office, dubbing her main plan as an “opportunity economy.”

“Here’s how it works – child tax credit, a child’s first year of life [receives] a $6,000 tax cut,” Walz said. “You can buy a crib, a car seat.”

Similar to the economy, Walz addressed current price-gouging issues within the nation. He informed the crowd that he recently visited a farm during his campaign tour where he came across severe price-gouging issues – farmers, who make $4 for a bushel of corn and $10 for soybeans, are continuing to make these same wages, even though the price of groceries was increased.

“Who’s taking the money? It’s not the farmers,” Walz said.

Other states such as Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin were referenced throughout Walz’s speech. He said that along with Pennsylvania, are states at the heart of America’s manufacturing.

Angie Hayes, a 19-year-old college student from Kansas, believes that Pennsylvania is an essential state to the nation, especially during the election.

“[But] even if I did have classes [today], I’m from a non-swing state, so it’s very common to not have political activity going on,” she said. “Having all of these rallies and stuff going on is really exciting and something I want to tune into.”

Hayes’s friend, Gabriella Popillo, 20, touched on the importance of her generation’s participation in the election. Popillo, who is from Maryland, believes that generation Z – also known as “Gen Z” – are the biggest future voices of the country.

“I think it’s important that we get out there and have our voices heard,” said Popillo, a fellow college student. “Because, you know, if you elect Trump, there might not be much of a future for us to live.”

Popillo was not the only person who was concerned about what Trump’s America used to be – and could once again look like.

“Under Trump, he lost 275,000 jobs in this state alone as he mismanaged Covid and put people’s lives at risk,” Walz said. “And you know what he’d do in a second term? He will gut the Affordable Care Act, cut social security and impose the Trump sales tax on everything we buy.”

Walz’s speech also tackled hot-button issues consuming the election, such as gun control. The governor, who often hunts and owns a gun, further expanded on the definition of “freedom” for the Harris campaign.

“Freedom means sending your little one off and you send them to school,” Walz said. “Freedom for them to go into that school and to learn, to be a child and to not be shot dead in their classrooms.”