Students at a pair of far western Kentucky high schools planned voter drives Tuesday in recognition of National Voter Registration Day.
Dozens of new voters were added to the Ballard and McCracken County rolls as a result of the drives, which targeted students at the institutions who were already or soon to be of legal voting age.
Hayes Gibson, a senior at Ballard Memorial High School, planned the drive at his school after attending this spring’s kickoff event for Co-Ops Vote – a partnership between Kentucky Electric Cooperatives and Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office aimed at boosting civic engagement across the Commonwealth – in Frankfort.
“I think when we're children, a lot of us don't realize that we can actually have a say in the political process and, as I've grown older, I've realized how important it is for me to be involved,” Gibson said. “[My] generation are going to be the ones filling the places of these old men and women that are leaving office, and we need to be aware of what's going on in our country so that we can better serve our country in the future and right now in the present.”
Gibson, an avid reader who said he gets a lot of his news by following outlets on social media, is just beginning his journey with civic engagement. He attended his first Fancy Farm Picnic in August and now expects to cast his first ballot in November’s general election.
“Recently being in Frankfort, it's kind of opened my eyes to what's going on behind the scenes of our local and state politics and how much they matter,” Gibson said.
One of the newest voters on the Ballard County rolls is Kori Martin, who Gibson helped register Tuesday. Martin – a senior at Ballard Memorial who hopes to go into a nursing program after she graduates – is concerned about the state of the economy, the high cost of college tuition and women’s bodily autonomy in the U.S.
“I knew I wanted to [register] as soon I learned that I could … because we’re voting on stuff that’s going to affect our futures and I think [that’s] something that we should definitely have a say in,” she said.
Cameron McDowell, a McCracken County High School senior, also attended the Co-Ops Vote launch in March. McDowell organized the drive in the Paducah high school’s cafeteria with the help of the McCracken County Clerk’s Office.
“[Voting] gets everybody involved and it’s just a cool feeling to know that you’re a part of the people that run our country. You get to make a decision,” McDowell said. “I think getting as many kids my age into this as fast as possible is a great idea … and just getting them impacting the country and letting them influence decisions that we make as a society.”
McCracken senior Sebastian Hutchins said registering and voting is something he’s been thinking about for years.
“I think it’s something that you think about doing as a kid and you’re like ‘Oh, when I’m 18, I get to vote’ because your parents have been doing it. It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “You’re voting for people that are going to make big impacts in your social life and everything. Changing laws is a big deal, so yeah [it’s important].”
McDowell and Gibson were each also a part of the Washington Youth Tour – a Kentucky Electric Cooperative initiative that allows students from across the state to take an educational trip to Washington, D.C., where they toured museums and monuments and got to hear from some of the Bluegrass State’s elected officials.
“What stood out most … was meeting our congressional delegation,” Gibson said in Kentucky Living magazine. “Having people like Rand Paul speak and answer questions was both a huge honor and [an] important learning experience.”
Just under 42% of Kentucky’s registered voters cast a ballot in the 2022 general election, the lowest turnout for a midterm election in the state in almost three decades. Meanwhile, just 6% of the state’s youngest cadre of voters – those between the ages of 17 and 24 – cast ballots in the 2022 general election. While their turnout rate was low, that age group still bested the next oldest grouping (voters between the ages of 25-34) by nearly a whole percentage point.
The November general election will include contested elections for a variety of statewide offices – including governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner.
The deadline to register to vote in Kentucky is Oct. 10. Election Day is Nov. 7.
