EDITORIAL

The Advocate-Messenger

Kentucky voters will take to the polls Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for a number of state offices, including governor.

The last day to register to vote or to change your voter registration information, including party affiliation, is Oct. 7, which approaching quickly.

If you haven’t already registered to vote, a prime opportunity is on the horizon.

Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, a campaign that is aiming to register more than 250,000 more voters ahead of the upcoming elections this year.

According to a press release, “Every year, millions of eligible voters are unable to cast a ballot because of a missed registration deadline, outdated registration information, or other problems with their voter registration.”

The Pew Research Center reports that as many as one-in-four eligible voters in the country are not registered to vote or have an outdated voter registration.

In order to take full advantage of your right to vote, you first must register. And it’s also important to make sure that registration is up-to-date.

Eligible voters can register or update their registration at online at NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org/register.

At vote411.org you can see who and what is on you ballot, check your voter registration, find your polling place, see upcoming debates in the area and more. You can also find much of that information and more at govoteky.org.

As we approach this national recognition of the importance of voting, take a few moments to check your registration status and update any information as needed. Then, help at least one other person get registered or update their own information.

Typically only about 25 percent of registered voters participate in elections. Even more eligible voters who are not registered are also not participating in the elections.

If only one in four registered voters are participating and thousands more are not even registered, only a small sample of our population is selecting who is representing our community as a whole.

Active participation in elections is the best way to ensure fair and equitable representation for our community. The first step is to make sure you and as many others are registered.