The following was sent to the Bloomingtonian:
The consortium of organizations continues its focus on getting new voters on and off IU’s campus to the polls.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 24, 2023)
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — A coalition of Bloomington-based organizations partnered with UBER to offer free rides to early voting and Election Day to any Monroe County resident using money granted by the National Organization for Women Foundation for the second year. Every registered Monroe County resident is eligible to vote on the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) referendum this Fall to finance unfunded needs, including affordable early childhood education, instructional materials, and access to technology and testing fees.
The National Organization for Women Foundation announced June 6th that it would fund the “Get Out the Vote” efforts of the Monroe County coalition for another year. The Monroe County National Organization for Women (MCNOW) is a member of the Big Ten Voting Challenge Steering Committee at Indiana University.
The Big Ten Voting Challenge is a collaborative effort among Indiana University’s peer institutions in the Big 10 to foster student democratic engagement. “We are incredibly grateful for community collaborations that make voting more accessible for our students. When students vote, young voices are better represented in community concerns” said Political and Civic Engagement (PACE) Acting Director, Mark Fraley, leader of the Big Ten Voting Challenge Steering Committee.
“We believe in investing in transportation access to voting. For many years, we heard that transportation was one of the biggest barriers to getting to vote so we made partnering with a rideshare service a top priority,” Monroe County NOW Director of Communications Natalia Galvan added. “We continue to do all we can to remove as many obstacles to voting as possible.”
Interested Monroe County residents are asked to use the URL: iu.turbovote.org to access a free roundtrip UBER ride to Election Operations at 302 S. Walnut St. during Early Voting. Residents may also use the free UBER voucher to access their polling site on Election Day.
