The November election is approaching faster than we think, and in order to educate voters and increase turnout, the Georgia Farm Monitor’s has created a campaign called “I Farm, I Vote.”
In Georgia, rural areas are an important part of the state. In fact, 120 out of 159 counties are considered rural. However, they are often overshadowed by urban areas like Atlanta. Population wise, it takes 87 counties to make up the population in the five counties in the Atlanta area, and during an election year, can be a lot of leverage. This is why it is important for people in rural areas to turn out and vote.
Back in 2018, the Georgia Farm Bureau decided to come out with the campaign “I Farm, I Vote”.
According to Georgia Farm Bureau president Gerald Long, “I saw the importance of the election coming up, back in 2018. I felt like we needed to get involved, even though we are a non-partisan organization... but I knew that our voices needed to be heard. I think its very important.”
Research after the 2018 midterms, proves that it did in fact make a difference with rural voter turnout. Farm Bureau’s Katie Duvall states, “Voter turnout was very high in rural areas in the 2018 election... obviously, the rural turnout was very important and did make a difference in that election, and we just want to make sure that we can encourage our members to do the same again this year.”
This year they added an educational component to make sure that people are up to date on the issues and who is on the ballot.
Georgia has two U.S. Senate seats, 14 Congressional seats, and more than 236 legislators serving in the state.
For more information click HERE.
Other states are also in a final push to get growers to the polls.
The president of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation says that your ballot will have a direct impact on the ability of farmers. He says that more and more Americans are not connected to the farm, so it is vital that farmers exercise their right to vote. “To defend our rights, our property rights, and water use and needs is so critical,” Bryan Searle states. “So, electing the right people that understand agriculture is key to getting legislation that will help sustain us into the future.”