Students for Alison, the campus organization supporting Alison Grimes’ senate campaign, is pounding the pavement asking students to register to vote.

Students for Alison began asking students to register or change their registration city to Murray, at the beginning of the fall semester. They plan to continue registering on campus until the deadline in October.

Alix Bloodworth, senior from Murray, said the next two weeks are crucial to the 800-student goal set by the organization. The organization is 80 percent there.

Grimes, the democratic candidate for the November senate election, could topple senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell has held his place as minority leader since 2007, and as one of the two senate seats for Kentucky since 1985.

If Grimes wins, she will be the first woman to hold a senate seat for Kentucky.

Students for Alison also helps people switch their city of registration to Murray.

“It’s easier on people,” Bloodworth said. “We don’t get out of school for election day, and it’s on a Tuesday. People from Louisville, St. Louis, or Nashville can’t go home to vote.”

Bloodworth said even those who live out of state should consider switching because registering in Murray gives students the opportunity to have a voice in community politics.

“They can vote in Kentucky elections,” she said. “It’s important because they’re living here at Murray State for four years. It’s important to be involved in your community.”

She said apathy toward politics runs rampant on campus, and pushing people to register can help alleviate it. Students who are registered outside of Murray are unlikely to travel to vote or to request an absentee ballot, she said.

“The apathetic won’t vote,” she said. “I think apathy is a problem on campus.”

Germoni McCray, junior from Memphis, Tenn., said she is uninterested in politics, but is registered to vote and voted in the last presidential election.

McCray said she knows Kentucky politics affect her life, including the November election. Spending most of the year in Murray has taught her that.

“I’m from Tennessee but I consider myself half a resident of Kentucky,” McCray said.

Despite her acknowledgment, McCray chose not to change her voter registration to Murray when asked by Students for Alison.

Alexis Macklin, sophomore from Louisville, Ky., registered to vote when approached by Students for Alison. Macklin said the convenience made it easy.

“I never had registered, and now I’m finally of age,” Macklin said. “It was right there, so I did it.”

Students for Alison provide the registration card to students and deliver it to City Hall for processing.

Olivia Petter, freshman from Paducah, Ky., said the persistence of Students for Alison irritated her after being asked multiple times to register.

“It was kind of annoying honestly,” Petter said. “The same person had already asked me twice, and I’m registered already.”

Even with the annoyance, Petter said she felt the goal was a good one.

“People should be registered to vote,” Petter said. “Everyone gets their input in. People need to realize how important it is to vote.”

Story by Amanda Grau, Staff writer