Baldwin EMC Board of Trustees

Reliable electricity, access to rural broadband and the quality of our healthcare system are just a few issues we all care about. Still, they only become priorities if enough people show elected officials that they are paying attention. Registering to vote and voting are the most effective ways to send this message.

We’d like you to join us in a new initiative to get every eligible person registered to vote—you, us, our family and friends—and take the pledge to Become a Co-op Voter.

Baldwin EMC has joined electric cooperatives across the country in launching a campaign to help get out the vote and get issues important to co-ops into the public discussion. Called “Co-ops Vote,” this effort will help boost voter turnout in areas served by cooperatives across the country and ensure that our voices are heard loud and clear every day, and especially on election day.

As democratically-elected Board members, we are in a qualified position to encourage all of our members to exercise their right to vote, whether it’s in Baldwin EMC’s elections or the presidential elections – both of which will happen this coming fall.

Typically, presidential elections are decided by thousands upon thousands of votes, not just one. Unfortunately, that leaves many people feeling as though it doesn’t matter if they cast a vote on election day or not. It does matter, because every vote sends a message.

In November, you’ll have the chance to send your message by voting on election day. When you cast a ballot, you’re letting your co-op Board and the future president of the United States know what policies, values and leadership characteristics you stand for and which you don’t.

In the 2012 national elections, voter turnout dropped overall, but the decline in rural counties was 18 percent—twice that of the nation as a whole. And when voters miss the chance to vote, they also lose the opportunity to communicate their concern to our leaders about the issues that matter to us, where we work, live and raise families.

Here’s what you can do to help. Visit the Co-ops Vote page at www.baldwinemc.com and take the pledge to Become a Co-op Voter to support your community and electric cooperative when casting your vote in 2016. The website will give you information on your elected officials and candidates, the voter registration process, election dates and locations.

With 42 million members across the nation, electric co-ops are a powerful voice on national issues that have a local impact.