SIDNEY — A voter registration rally is scheduled to be held on Thursday evening at the Historic Sidney Theatre and will feature live music and a food truck.

“Rock and Roll and Register to Vote,” which is scheduled to run between 5 and 8:30 p.m., is a collaboration between realtor Kevin Jones, the Shelby County Board of Elections and the Shelby County Democratic Party.

While the local Democratic Party is collaborating with the event, chairman Chris Gibbs stressed the registration rally will be a nonpartisan, campaign-free event.

“Kevin asked if we’d be interested in helping sponsor an event he wanted to put on for the community, and Kevin is specifically interested in making sure we get more people out to vote, because that’s the foundation of our democracy,” Gibbs said.

“We wanted to make sure this is a nonpartisan event with no campaigning. That’s how it’s going to be.”

Anyone can attend. Those who come can check their voter registration status, register to vote and find information about their polling place.

“Our target is people who are not registered to vote or don’t know if they’re registered, but anybody with questions or anyone who wants to come down and just socialize can,” Jones said. “I want to make sure people know this will be a friendly event. Nobody will be there with signs or anything.

“… A lot of younger people don’t know it’s a right of privilege and a duty to voice an opinion and make sure you’re heard.”

While anyone can attend, younger people who have never voted are encouraged to come. Board of elections personnel will be on site to answer questions about the voting process; they will have a mock voting setup for those interested.

“Young people who haven’t voted before or are intimidated by the process, can see what it’s like,” Gibbs said. “Both the director and deputy director of the Shelby County Board of Elections will be there, and they’re going to have an electronic poll book set up and a sample ballot, and we’ll have a voting booth set up so an individual can literally go through the process.”

Jones will speak during the event, as will Board of Elections director Pam Kerrigan and deputy director Drew Higgins. Sidney High School teacher Brett Bickel will speak, as will Luke Roberts, a Sidney graduate who is an Air Force veteran. Roberts will speak about the importance of voting from a veteran’s perspective.

Local band “The Reverie” will be performing at the event, and Wannabe Tacos will be selling food.

“This is open for everybody. Doesn’t even have to be Shelby County,” Gibbs said. “Anyone who can register to vote anywhere in Ohio.

“… We want this to be safe zone for voters. This is a no-campaign, nonpartisan event. We want to be very clear about that.”

Gibbs, who is formerly a member and chairperson of the Shelby County Board of Elections, encouraged anyone unsure of their voting status to attend. He said 470 Shelby County residents were purged from voter rolls in August.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose purged nearly 160,000 people statewide. Among the reasons a voter can be removed from active rolls is if they haven’t voted with their registered address in the past for years after being marked for removal by a county board of elections.

Reach Sidney Daily News editor Bryant Billing at 937-538-4822, or follow @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook or @TopBillingSport on X (Twitter).