Huntre Keip says a love of politics runs in the family. That's why the Panther Valley senior decided to spend the evening of her 18th birthday casting her first ballot in Tuesday's municipal elections.

Clearly, a good deal of that love of politics comes from her 95-year-old grandmother, Phyllis M. Dankel, who has never missed an election in Summit Hill and joined her at the polls Tuesday.The two women cast their ballots together in a heartwarming moment that was 74 years in the making."I was brought up in politics," Keip said. "I think because of her, I am more informed than most people my age."Dankel, a lifelong Summit Hill resident, voted in her first election in 1941. Still equipped with a quick wit at 95, she said that she would be ashamed not to vote, because she sees people who are on oxygen still make the trip."It's a privilege, and you should get out and exercise that privilege," she said.Up until about a decade ago, she also worked the polls in Summit Hill's Third Ward. Poll workers were excited to see her on Tuesday."She's more informed than your average voter," Susan Colancecco said.While Dankel had to wait until she was 21 to vote, she was involved in politics even before that. She recalled "electioneering" on the streets of the borough before she was eligible to cast a ballot. She fully approved of her 18-year-old granddaughter having the right to vote."You're smart enough to teach the politicians," she told Keip.Keip was lucky enough to be one of the older members of her senior class. She said that she is the only one she knows of who is registered to vote now.She has been involved with her own school politics, serving as class secretary since eighth grade. This fall, she directed an effort to get Panther Valley and Marian Catholic fans to wear red, white and blue when the two schools' football teams met on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.She said that she got her first taste of politics going to the polls with her mom, Joy, and visiting Dankel."Ever since I was a baby, I visited the polls. I'd just sit down, have a snack, see how my grandma was doing," she said.Joy also voted Tuesday, making it three generations at the polls. She recalled realizing that her daughter would be into politics when she started identifying the candidates on campaign signs when other kids were more interested in cartoons.Keip is hoping to pursue a career in law. A major in political science could be part of that path as she finalizes her college plans."We always instill what an important privilege it is to vote," Joy Keip said.