Join Us By Voting on November 6
By Dan Riedinger
Our co-op’s first priority is providing our members with safe, reliable and affordable electricity. But doing this job requires a lot more than stringing and maintaining power lines throughout our service territory. It requires political engagement. That may seem far removed from our core mission, but it is absolutely essential to serving you, our members.
That is why we are participating in a national program of America’s electric cooperatives called Co-ops Vote.
Co-ops Vote encourages all co-op members to participate in national, state and local elections while educating political candidates and elected officials about the important role played by electric cooperatives in their communities.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the service organization representing the nation’s electric co-ops, launched Co-ops Vote in 2016. Co-ops Vote started as a national nonpartisan get-out-the-vote initiative that helped drive rural voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election.
Through this program, electric co-ops realized they had a unique advantage: As co-ops, the civic virtue of voting is in our DNA. We show Concern for Community—one of the seven cooperative principles—through participation in our democracy.
Co-ops have another advantage. Elected officials and decision-makers across the political spectrum trust us because of the work the electric cooperative family has put into political engagement. When we all get involved, we can make things happen politically and in our local communities.
Our participation in Co-ops Vote helps ensure that rural issues remain part of the national discussion—and are supported by our elected officials. But Co-ops Vote is not just for co-ops. It is for co-op members just like you.
You can participate by committing to cast your ballot on November 6. Visit www.vote.coop to learn more about the upcoming elections and access online tools that can help you participate.
