SUNFLOWER ELECTRIC

As the nation gears up for another general election in November, electric cooperatives across the heartland have launched their own campaign—an effort to promote civic engagement and voter participation in the communities they serve. The effort is designed to REV up the public: Register, Educate and Vote.

The nationwide campaign, called Co-ops Vote, was announced during the 74th annual meeting of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) earlier this year. The objective of the campaign is to encourage participation in the political process by keeping members informed about how to get and stay involved in local, state and national elections.

“The level of interest in politics varies from person to person,” said Clare Gustin, vice president of member services and external affairs at Hays-based Sunflower Electric. “What everyone should care about is understanding the process. This campaign is designed to help people become aware of the political process, how to register, and when and where to vote.”

The Co-ops Vote initiative will focus on eight issues that are important to the health and prosperity of communities served by electric cooperatives:
• Rural Broadband Access
• Hiring and Honoring Veterans
• Low-Income Energy Assistance
• Cybersecurity
• Water Regulation
• Rural Health Care Access
• Affordable and Reliable Energy
• Renewable Energy

Electric cooperatives, like Sunflower and its six member cooperatives, which utilize a democratically-based business model, are perfectly designed to encourage civic engagement and to help address important issues that affect electric utility rates, the livelihood of Kansans, quality of life, and the rural economy.

Getting involved early in Kansas politics is essential. “Historically, races have been won in the primary election,” Gustin said. “Candidates for some positions in a heavily partisan district may only have opposition in the primary election as the voter registration tends to be very partisan.”

This year primaries will be held in Kansas on Aug. 2.

Prior to the primary election, citizens can do the following to learn about the candidates in their districts:
• Research candidates online. Both the Republican and Democrat parties have pages for each local candidate on their state websites. This will provide information about the candidates, including their experience and thoughts about main issues.
• When a candidate comes to your door, be prepared to ask about issues important to you. If he/she doesn’t visit you, call the candidate.
• Attend local candidate forums. A new website, www.vote.coop, offers co-op members information about the voter registration
process in their states, dates of elections, information about the candidates running in those elections, and explanations of the eight key issues the campaign aims to address. In keeping with its non-partisan goals, the initiative will not be endorsing specific candidates for office.

“We want to make sure our government knows that rural America matters,” said Mel Coleman, president of NRECA. ”Co-op Vote is not about divisive, partisan issues, but rather real people in real places facing real challenges. It’s about our co-ops living out the principles of our movement—concern for community and democratic control.”

To learn more about Kansas politics, visit these websites:
• http://www.politics1.com/ks.htm
• http://www.sos.ks.gov/elections/elections_upcoming_candidate_display.asp
• https://www.vote.coop/