Louisville freshman Chris Flood received phone calls from friends wishing him “happy birthday” while he filled out a voter registration form at a party Friday night. He filled out the form about 10 minutes before he turned 18.

Students from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and Americans for Informed Democracy helped 270 people register to vote during Operation Voter Madness last week, said Morehead senior George Eklund, Warren County electoral organizer for KFTC.

KFTC and AID are non-partisan organizations, Eklund said.

Operation Voter Madness lasted from noon on Thursday to midnight Saturday, he said.

Other KFTC chapters had success with a voting drive, so Eklund wanted to have one in Bowling Green, he said.

Volunteers visited football games, parties, bars, restaurants, the farmers market and other locations to find eligible voters, he said.

The voting drive aimed to register people political campaigns typically ignore, Eklund said. People living in the west end of town, which typically has a low voter turnout, and students fall into that category.

“Students are rather apathetic, and they don’t come out in the polls in great numbers,” Eklund said.

KFTC volunteers picked unusual times to find people in that category, he said.

Volunteers received varied responses, Eklund said.

One woman told KFTC volunteer Meredith Wadlington that college students shouldn’t vote because they don’t do things such as pay mortgages, said Wadlington, a junior from Memphis, Tenn.

The woman said college students want to tax the rich, who are usually their parents.

“It’s really, really disheartening,” Wadlington said of the woman’s response.

Wadlington told the woman the drive aimed to engage the community, not just college students, she said.

Brownsville junior Cody Balke showed more appreciation for the drive. Balke said he might not have registered if the volunteers hadn’t approached him at a party Friday night. He just hasn’t found the time to register.

“A reminder’s always helpful,” Balke said.

Volunteers also encouraged students to register to vote in Bowling Green, Eklund said.

Students going to school in Bowling Green generally work in the area and therefore pay taxes there, he said.

“You should really take a stake in this community,” he said.

KFTC volunteers also want help felons regain their right to vote, Eklund said.

The process to restore felons’ rights has become less restricted since Gov. Steve Beshear took office, he said.

Convicted felons had to pay a fee, write an essay and have three recommendations before their voting rights could be restored, according to a press release from the Governor’s Communications Office.

Beshear’s policy makes sure that felons have fulfilled all of their sentencing requirements before they regain the right to vote, according to the press release. It gives prosecutors a chance to object when circumstances merit a second look.

Reach Marianne Hale at news@chherald.com.