Activist group offers election info, rides to polls

By Pamela Burke

The election season is winding down and an activist group is still encouraging UK students to cast an educated vote on Tuesday’s election as well as offering rides to polls.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a statewide activist group, set up a table outside of White Hall Classroom Building yesterday in an effort to promote student voting. Even though the voter registration deadline has passed for this election, KFTC was encouraging registering for future elections, giving out information on candidates and offer rides to voting locations.

“We want to remind students about the election and provide them with useful information to help them with their polling decisions, as well as make students aware of when and where they need to vote,” said Joe Gallenstein, a political science and history junior and a co-coordinator at the UK chapter of KFTC.

Election polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. KFTC is offering rides to the polls for students unable to get to a voting site on Election Day.

Students may contact either Dave Newton, community organizer for KFTC, at (859) 420-8919 or the County Clerk’s Office at (859) 255-8683 for more information on getting a ride to voting sites. Students can also volunteer to drive to polls, Newton said.

The voter guides given out yesterday serve two purposes, Gallenstein said. The first is to explain issues that are important to the candidates’ offices, and the second is to raise awareness about issues that are sometimes ignored, such as mountaintop removal, restoration and voting rights, he said.

More information on polling hours, rides and candidates’ platforms is available at the KFTC Web site (www.kentuckyelection.org).