Unless you haven’t been watching television or listening to the radio for the past several months, you have undoubtedly seen or heard the many political ads that are currently filling the airwaves, not to mention all the print ads in newspapers and magazines, and the many social media posts related to the upcoming election.

It’s hard to escape them, and we’re only going to be subjected to more of those in the coming weeks leading up to the general election on November 3.

Regardless of how you feel about these types of ads, or which candidates you support, the fact remains that this is a very important election, and having our voices heard is critical in our efforts to be efficient advocates —  no matter the issues we choose to advocate for. I have said more than once, the right to vote is one of the most important freedoms we have in this country.

Having a say in who will be leading our local, state, and federal governments is far too important of a task to pass up. In keeping with Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) long history of helping to inform our members on a number of policy issues, we often host Measure the Candidate (MTC) forums for all levels of government, throughout the state. Recently we hosted a MTC forum for the U.S. Senate race.

In being involved in this way, I think it’s important to note that KFB does not endorse any candidate. That was not the purpose of this organization when it was founded more than 100 years ago, and it is not how we operate today. However, we do take great pride in working with elected officials on both sides of the aisle when it comes to supporting our priorities.

We make no apologies for that, and we will continue to work with our government leaders who support legislation that positively affects our rural communities and agriculture industry.

Participating in the procedure by which we elect our governmental leaders is something not all people in the world get to do, and it’s hard for me to imagine living in a place where citizens do not have a voice in who heads up their governments.

It’s so easy to take something like the right to vote for granted since it is something we have always enjoyed. It’s also easy to think our one vote won’t make a difference. That is simply not the case. Each vote is important to these candidates and the election process, and we should always remember that.

As we get closer to election day, take time to positively consider this privilege we have and make every effort to be included in this process.

Those political ads may seem repetitive after a while, and whether you view them as informative or not, they can at least remind us of how important the right to vote is to this system of government we call a democracy.

I hope you will take the time to support the candidate of your choice and then make the effort to vote for them.
Mark Haney, President
Kentucky Farm Bureau