Student Government performed one of its most important duties this week — helping to get UK students involved in state politics — with Voter-a-palooza yesterday.

At Voter-a-palooza, SG officials, along with members of UK College Republicans, UK College Democrats and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, handed out information about candidates, polling locations and how to find rides to the polls, the Kernel reported yesterday.

Those who do not follow politics daily may find it difficult to glean good information about the statewide races from last-minute media coverage. Efforts like Voter-a-palooza help those people catch up and make an informed decision instead of casting random ballots or simply staying home.

It is heartening to see SG cooperating with student organizations and a statewide activist group to get students involved in the election process, especially since apathy is so widespread on campus.

SG should bring this spirit of participation and activism into next semester by starting to inform students about next year’s race for the council seat in Lexington’s 3rd District, which includes UK and the area around campus.

The 3rd District seat will be open in the November 2008 elections because incumbent Dick DeCamp will have reached his term limit. That means it will be a perfect time for SG to recruit a student or student-friendly candidate to run for the seat.

SG needs to act quickly because the primary is in May, just more than six months from now. Yesterday’s Voter-a-palooza should be the start — not the culmination — of a year of activism on SG’s part.