Local organizations offer rides to the polls

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Some local organizations have found a new way to support their communities.

The Faith Coalition for the Common Good is helping voters in Springfield get to the polls by offering car rides to local polling places.

"It's important to increase that accessibility, because for a really long time, low income people and black and brown folks have had their vote really suppressed," said Emma Shafer, Community and Digital Organizer for Faith Coalition for the Common Good.

The Coalition is a non-profit focused on community organizing. Shafer says she often hears from people who can't vote because they lack transportation.

"We know that there are people that aren't able to get to the polls and so we want to offer them a ride if they are unable to get there," said Shafer

The University of Illinois Springfield is also offering rides to the polls for its students on Election Day. All on-campus students vote at Lincoln Land Community College, so UIS provides transportation.

"I think it's very important because there are a lot of students here on campus who don't have transportation to get to these things and they kind of will use that as an excuse to not go and to not vote," said Paige Williams, a student at UIS.

The drive to the polls is organized by the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center. The group hosts voter registration drives and voter awareness events throughout the school year to help make voting more accessible to students.

"Many times, students put off getting registered and then when it nears the Election Day, they are scrambling for information," said Connie Komnick, the Assistant Director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center. "So having the the shuttle tomorrow kind of helps alleviate that."