Co-op Champions Power Voter Registration

With the 2026 mid-term elections one year away, hundreds of new voters have been added to the rolls in Kentucky thanks to high school students participating in Co-op Champions, a program coordinated by Kentucky Electric Cooperatives, the association of all 26 electric co-ops in the commonwealth.

Thirteen seniors who served as delegates on the weeklong Electric Cooperative Washington Youth Tour this summer are enlisted in the leadership initiative that takes their youth tour experience to the next level. Modeled after the cooperative principles that drive Kentucky’s member-owned electric co-ops, the Co-op Champions program empowers students to engage in their communities, take initiative, and practice civic responsibility. 

In addition to supporting their local co-ops and volunteering in their communities, each of the Co-op Champions students hosted a Co-ops Vote registration drive. In partnership with Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, the 2025 Co-ops Vote effort kicked off during the Frankfort Youth Tour in March. Coops Vote is a nonpartisan initiative by America’s electric cooperatives to promote civic engagement, encourage voter participation, and educate communities about the importance of voting.

In high school hallways and cafeterias this fall, the drives encouraged students who will be 18 by the 2026 general election to register to vote and fulfill their civic duty. With guidance from their local cooperatives who sponsored them on the Washington Youth Tour, the Co-op Champions executed the planning, promotion, and hosting of the registration drives, a meaningful step toward equipping the next generation with skills to serve as community leaders.

“I commend these students for getting civically engaged at a young age,” said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael G. Adams, praising the initiative. “Registering to vote is the first step to active citizenship, on which the American way of life depends.” 

 Voter registration drives were held across the Commonwealth by: 

  • Blue Grass Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
    • Jacob Edmonds, Madison South High School, Berea
  • Jackson Energy Cooperative
    • Kristopher Gibson, Clay County High School, Manchester
    •  MaKayleigh Ward, Lee County High School, Beattyville
  • Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative
    • Brody Miller, McCracken County High School, Paducah
  • Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
    • Isabelle Huber, Northside Baptist Church, Elizabethtown
    • Karsten Ingalls, Elizabethtown Community & Tech College, Elizabethtown
  • Owen Electric Cooperative
    • Masen Chandler, Carroll County High School, Carrollton
  • Salt River Electric
    • Makayla Meyer, Bullitt East High School, Mount Washington
    • Noah Downey, Bethlehem High School, Bardstown
  • South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
    • Addison Carr, Clinton County Courthouse, Albany
    • Elise Meggs, Somerset Christian School, Somerset
    • Mattie Goley, Wayne County High School, Monticello
  • Taylor Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
    • Hunter Farmer, Taylor County High School, Campbellsville

Kentucky Electric Cooperatives coordinates the Frankfort Youth Tour and Washington Youth Tour, helping young people gain first-hand experience with local and federal government, engage in civic activities, and take an active role in their communities. Backed by their local electric cooperatives, delegates return from these experiences ready to inspire their peers and take on community leadership roles, as evidenced by the impactful student voter registration drives.