Given the sheer volume of political and sociopolitical issues gripping the nation at this time, it’s sometimes difficult to separate everything from everything else. But with the 2020 election looming closer on November 3, there are obvious issues with the ability of every American citizen to exercise their right to vote. From the demolition of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to various attempts to gerrymander districts into favorable outcomes for certain parties, to the tactics designed to make mail-in ballots almost impossible to tabulate, it seems as if one of the cornerstones of our democracy is under attack as never before.
Another prong of that attack is the elimination of polling places. According to Reuters, over 1,200 polling places in the American South were closed from 2013 through 2019. The 2020 Georgia primary election saw lines of voters so long, polling places stayed open well past their estimated times. Especially in a time when the entire nation is dealing with a pandemic, the moves to make in-person voting more difficult and dangerous is especially alarming.
On Friday, the NBA and the NBA Players Association released a joint statement after of player boycotts of playoff games and the ensuing discussions regarding a restart. Among the conditions met was the NBA’s assertion that “in every city where the league franchise owns and controls the arena property, team governors will continue to work with local election officials to convert the facility into a voting location for the 2020 general election to allow for a safe in-person voting option for communities vulnerable to COVID. If a deadline has passed, team governors will work with local elections officials to find another election-related use for the facility, including but not limited to voter registration and ballot receiving boards.”
Joint NBA and NBPA statement: pic.twitter.com/EFp6fG9oZs
— NBA (@NBA) August 28, 2020
The NFL, as caught up in social justice issues as it’s been of late, has no known similar initiative. But there are NFL teams looking to enter this realm of possibility on their own. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs are leaders in this regard — they’re already planning to turn Arrowhead Stadium into a voting location for November. As quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive back Tyrann Mathieu have already pledged to take charge in local voter registration efforts, team President Mark Donovan said this week that the idea is to make it a more global effort.
“Voting registration and voter engagement, I personally believe, is very important,” Donovan said, per Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. And people exercising their right to vote, I personally believe, is very important. I think Patrick, Tyrann, others, I’m really proud to be associated with those guys in their efforts. I appreciate that they mentioned we’ve had those discussions, and I’ve been in those discussions. We have some plans to do things in and around this election that are going to be focused on, number one, awareness of the importance of voting; number two, creating awareness of the ways people can register to vote, the ways people can engage and doing that through the experts in that space.
“We have a plan right now, which is not final, and I’ll share it with you all that we’re committed to doing it, but it has some challenges — we want to make Arrowhead a polling location. We want to create an opportunity for people to come to Arrowhead and vote. In addition to that, with the awareness, you’re going to see a lot of things around the highest points of awareness for us as an organization that are going to be focused on voting, the awareness of voting and ways to vote.
“One of the reasons that I personally and I think this organization believes that’s a platform we need to get behind is the beauty of the vote. You can have different opinions. You can vote for different people. But vote. And that’s really what we’re trying to engage in.”
The Seattle Seahawks, one of the league’s more politically aware organizations, have already worked with King County Elections to make CenturyLink Field an official Vote Center location. Per the team’s official website on August 1, “Local citizens will be able to register to vote, get a replacement ballot, and receive other assistance from King County Elections staff during both the August Primary and November General elections.”
“Voting is one of the very foundations of our democracy and one of the simplest ways to make your voice heard,” said David Young, Seahawks Sr. VP of Business Operations and General Manager of CenturyLink Field. “We could not pass up another opportunity to share with our fans and residents how critical it is to get registered, cast your ballot, and stand up for what you believe in – no matter what that might be.”
The CenturyLink Field Vote Center was open on Saturday, August 1st, Monday, August 3rd, and Tuesday, August 4th for the August 4 Primary election.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with CenturyLink Field and the Seahawks for the second year in a row. It is always a challenge to find the ways to reach all 1.4 million registered voters here in King County and their partnership is invaluable in amplifying the information voters need to confidently cast their ballot and make their vote count,” stated King County Director of Elections Julie Wise. “Every vote cast strengthens our democracy and our communities. We could not be more grateful to continue this partnership. Go Hawks!”
Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts and the scouting combine, will also be a polling place for Marion County voters. The idea, per Russell Hollis, deputy director in the Marion County Clerk’s Office, is to make things easier for voters after a June primary election in which there were long lines at polling places, and absentee ballots overwhelmed the system.
The NFL has a portal on its official site with voting information as part of its “NFL Votes” initiative.
“This is a collaborative, league-wide effort that includes the NFL Players Association and other player leaders,” it says on the site. “The league also is partnering with three nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations – I Am A Voter, RISE to Vote, and Rock the Vote – to advance our goal of increasing civic engagement in NFL communities across the country. These organization were chosen because of their mission, capacity and experience to engage communities, register voters, and increase voter participation and turnout.”
The next positive step for the NFL would be to follow the NBA’s example and do all it can to make its stadiums open to the public to ease the burdens of voter complication and suppression in the general election.