The Capital Area Transportation Authority has long offered free rides to polling places on election day. This year, CATA will extend access to free transportation to include the two weeks leading up to the election.
The CATA Board of Directors has approved offering free rides for persons going to their local clerk’s office to register to vote or to cast a ballot, starting October 25th.
Under state law, eligible individuals who need to register to vote must do so in person during the 14 days leading up to an election.
CATA board chairman Nathan Triplett says the process will be easy. “If someone wants to book a paratransit ride or hop on to one of our line haul routes to get to the clerk’s office to be able to register, they’ll just do so as they would normally,” Triplett explains, “and indicate to the driver that they’re doing it for the purpose of registering to vote or casting their ballot.”
Triplett adds that no identification will be required.
CATA will also host ballot drop boxes at their transportation centers in downtown Lansing and on the MSU campus, along with the CATA administrative offices in South Lansing.