State Launches Voter Information Website

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- As a kickoff to the National Voter Registration Week, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson announced Monday the launch of a new website designed to provide eligible voters in the Commonwealth with all of the information they need to vote in the upcoming general elections.

The website, canivote.org, is the centerpiece of a 2006 national voter education campaign created by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), which represents the nation's chief state election officials.

States across the country will participate once again in National Voter Registration Week, Sept. 25 through Oct. 1, and encourage eligible voters to register in time for the 2006 midterm elections.
 

Kentucky's registration deadline is October 10, 2006.

This is the third National Voter Registration Week that has been sponsored by NASS since 2000.

"The Can I Vote? Web site is a one-stop shop for Kentucky voters who want to learn more about how to vote and where to vote, including those who want to check their registration status or polling place location," Grayson said. "We are promoting this national effort with the hope that it will help answer voter questions and make participation as simple as possible as we head into our general election."

The Can I Vote? Campaign is designed to help answer the two questions voters most often asked in 2004, according to the Election Protection Coalition: "Am I registered to vote?" and "Where is my polling place?"

The Web site provides links to voter registration lookup tools and polling place locators. It also includes an interactive directory of local election officials, a listing of voter registration deadlines, statewide polling place hours, and state voter identification requirements.

"Although some secretaries of state already offer this information online, it has never before been available in a single location for voters in all 50 states," NASS Executive Director Leslie Reynolds said. "It's also the only national voter education site created and approved by state election officials."

CanIVote.org features a step-by-step guide to voting in 2006:

Step 1: Find out if You're Registered, allows citizens to check their voter registration status.
Step 2: Locate your Polling Place, includes tools for finding a person's voting location.
Step 3: Know What Kind of ID is Required, enables voters to review state ID rules for voting.
Step 4: Save the Date, includes election dates, polling place hours and information about early or no-excuse absentee voting early for those states that allow it.
Step 5: Learn about the Candidates, provides information about candidates in a voter's district.
Step 6: Be a Poll Worker, includes information on becoming an election judge or poll worker.
Step 7: Vote!, urges eligible voters to cast a ballot and to encourage others to vote.

"I think this new service will be of particular help to Kentucky's college students who might choose to vote in their home states," remarked Grayson. "Having voter information from all states on one website will hopefully increase voter participation among this typically underrepresented age group of the voting population."

The Can I Vote? Campaign will run through November 2006.

The Kentucky State Board of Elections website and the Voter Information Center also provide similar Kentucky specific information, and can be accessed at www.elect.ky.gov.