Courtesy of the Office of Secretary of State
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 27, 2016) - Secretary of State Alison Lundergan today joined the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives (KAEC) in launching the organization's "Co-ops Vote" campaign. She spoke to high school students representing each of the Kentucky cooperatives in Frankfort, and urged them to get out the vote in their home areas. "As a Commonwealth, we have work to do to increase voter turnout in all of our elections - especially in rural Kentucky where turnout is below the state average in almost every cycle," said Grimes. "I appreciate our electric cooperatives working hard to urge citizens in rural areas to vote in this important election year. I am excited to be a partner in their efforts as we continue to work to get more Kentuckians to the polls." In the 2012 elections, decline in voter turnout in rural counties was approximately 18 percent, which equaled twice the decline in the United States overall. In last year's General Election, 66 of Kentucky's 120 counties - many of them rural - failed to meet the 30 percent statewide turnout average. Co-ops Vote is a non-partisan effort to boost voter turnout in areas served by electric cooperatives across the country to ensure that the voices of rural electric members are heard loud and clear every day, and especially on Election Day. "We appreciate Secretary Grimes lending her voice and commitment to civic engagement to the Co-ops Vote campaign," said Chris Perry, president and CEO of KAEC. "It is our hope that the Co-ops Vote effort furthers Secretary Grimes' considerable efforts to protect the right to vote, improve ballot access and encourage Kentuckians to show up on Election Day." Co-ops Vote was developed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the national service organization that represents the nation's more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives. With 42 million members across the nation, electric co-ops are a powerful voice on national issues that have a local impact. "I have long held the belief that Kentucky is at its best when more of our citizens' voices are heard - that means showing up to vote," said Grimes. "If we are to begin to solve any of the problems that face our state and country, we must continue spreading the message that voting is one of the first steps in the process." Grimes recently launched online voter registration in Kentucky. She embarked on a statewide voter registration effort which resulted in more than 22,000 Kentuckians updating and registering to vote online. Grimes also launched GoVoteKY.com<govoteky.com>, which serves as a one-stop portal for voter resources, including sample ballots, polling locations, and other important information.