Electric co-ops encourage rural residents to vote

Rural electric cooperatives are asking their members to "become a co-op voter" and go to the polls. During the 2012 presidential election, voter turnout was down 18 percent in rural areas, twice that of the nation as a whole, according to the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives. Kentucky's voter turnout in 2015 followed a similar trend. (KAEC photo: Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, right, has been traveling the state encouraging rural residents to register and vote)

Earlier this year the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association launched “Co-ops Vote,” a campaign designed "to boost voter turnout in areas served by cooperatives by encouraging electric co-op employees and their consumer members to exercise one of their most basic rights—the right to vote," NRECA said. Its CEO, Jeffrey Connor, said, “Co-ops Vote focuses elected leaders on the people who are most invested in the success of their own communities. With 42 million members across the nation, electric co-ops are a powerful voice on national issues that have a local impact. We want to be sure that voice is always heard, especially on Election Day.”

To take the Co-ops Vote pledge, click here. To find voter information in your state click here.