BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Common Ground Arkansas is looking to get people to the polls for the upcoming primary elections on May 24 by offering a group bike ride to the ballots.

Common Ground is a nonpartisan organization focused on “putting people over politics,” a press release said, noting just 15% of Arkansans vote in the May primary election, where 85% of the seats are actually decided.

“Voting only in November is like showing up on Tuesday to the Monday Night Football game. It’s all over,” said Senator Jim Hendren, co-founder of Common Ground Arkansas. 

To prevent the number of voters from remaining low, organizers planned the bike ride for Tuesday, May 17 with riders meeting at the Meteor Cafe in Bentonville before the ride.

Participants will meet at 5 p.m. and leave at 5:15 p.m. to bike to the Benton County Courthouse. Riders should bring an ID to show for voter verification at the poll. After voting, riders can choose to do a gravel ride led by NWA Gravel Collective or a family-friendly greenway cruise led by Marley Blonsky of All Bodies on Bikes.

Following the ride, the group will return to the Meteor at 7 p.m. for an after-party.

“The people of Arkansas deserve better than what we currently see in our politics,” said Misty Orpin, executive director. “We want less divisiveness and more problem-solving. But we can only get there if people exercise their right to vote.”

Early voting continues now through Election Day on May 24. For more information, visit commongroundar.org.

To register for the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.com.