A non-partisan grassroots effort to help locals register to vote will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25 at McKee Park’s large pavilion.
Martesa Bishop Flowers, 35, is organizing the event because of low voter turnout in municipal elections.
Flowers has worked as an activist, which instilled in her a drive for community involvement.
“We have so many different organizations, but they don’t seem to be proactive in getting people registered to vote,” she said.
Flowers said the aim of the event will be to promote, encourage and increase voter turnout. She then cited research saying less than 45 percent of registered voters participate in elections.
In Mississippi, the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows 84 percent of the state’s population is registered to vote, while only 74 percent of registered voters participate in elections.
Flowers hopes to close that gap by getting the word out regarding registration and participation.
The event will be aimed toward high school students who are at, or are approaching legal voting age. Flowers said she plans to coordinate registration efforts with local high schools.
When asked why it is important to get high school students registered, Flowers said “I just don’t think we encourage it as much.”
“If more citizens were to get involved and the community could see an increase in numbers of registered voters, this would be beneficial for the community as a unit,” she said. “I'm excited about this opportunity, and prayerfully, this enthusiasm can be spread among others.”
Refreshments will also be offered to those in attendance.
The event is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.