KU and KSU students are using their rivalry to whip up interest in the November elections.

Students at Kansas University and Kansas State University are turning the mostly good-natured rivalry between the schools into a civics project.

At today’s home football games, students from both schools will be setting up tables and canvassing the crowd in an effort to register voters for the Nov. 5 general election. The school that registers the most voters (actually the highest percentage of the total announced attendance) will get not only bragging rights but the opportunity to see their opponents dressed in the rival school’s colors at the KU-KSU football game on Nov. 2.

This all is in good fun, but it puts the focus on the serious responsibility of voting. Interest in voting has waned in recent years, particularly among younger voters. The Nov. 5 election includes important races for statewide offices and it would be great to have a large voter turnout at the polls.

Congratulations to students at KU and KSU for coming up with such a fun and worthwhile way to emphasize the need to get involved in state government.