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Arkansas Works Better When Arkansans Vote (Randy Zook Feedback)

2 min read

TO THE EDITOR:

Two months ago I shared an update about the agenda of our Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas in this paper. There I alluded to our business community’s efforts in this important election, saying “employers have a unique opportunity to help their employees understand the effect of government on the business environment and the outlook for employees’ jobs.”

The midterm election is less than 50 days away. And employers in our state recognize that Arkansas and America can do better than having a 14 percent approval rating of Congress.

America works better when Americans vote, but Americans can’t vote unless they are registered. There are millions of employees across the U.S. who have not registered to vote, but it isn’t too late to get them registered. The Arkansas Prosperity Project, a grassroots coalition of local businesses and trade associations, is proud to participate in a Get Out the Vote strategy by and for the business community called “Employees Vote.”

About 39 percent of eligible Arkansans voted in our last midterm election. In 2010, that means three out of every five eligible voters in our state didn’t make their voice heard.

As business owners and entrepreneurs, we recognize that people don’t register because they forget, or they think it’s too complicated or time-consuming, or perhaps they have moved and just haven’t updated their voter registration information. The truth is that registering to vote is simple and doesn’t take much time or effort. The Arkansas Prosperity Project wants to make sure that in 2014 we improve on the turnout and we want to make sure that voters are educated when they show up to vote on Nov. 4 or if they vote early.

On ArkansasProsperity.org or EmployeesVote.org, we’ve made it easy for you to register to vote and to learn about the 2014 midterm elections.

To make a difference in Congress, we need to look outside of the D.C. beltway. Employers and employees in Arkansas can help make that difference if we help to get out the vote.n

Randy Zook

President and CEO, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas
Little Rock

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