Election Day is just 12 days away and your Alumni Association has joined the 32 NFL clubs in encouraging football fans to vote on Tuesday, November 5 or in early voting.
Ten NFL stadia from Seattle to Carolina are being used as official polling places or ballot drop-off locations on Election Day. These venues certainly are more attractive than the old school gyms and small, rural public libraries that many of us voted in years ago. The other eight NFL stadia that will be used on Election Day are in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
For example, Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Raiders, will serve as an official polling venue in Nevada for the first time.
“Our great state makes registration and voting early very accessible,” says Raiders owner Mark Davis. “The Raiders are proud to do our part to encourage high turnout by providing a central location for voters to cast their ballots on Election Day.”
A study by the Harvard Kennedy School found that 48 sports venues were used for early and Election Day voting the last Presidential Election in 2020 and that hundreds of thousands of Americans utilized these facilities to vote.
The study found: 1) that turnout was consistent across the political spectrum; 2) voters and election officials had an overall positive voting experience in the sports venues; and 3) voting at stadiums strengthened the community’s relationship with the sports teams.
Our Alumni Association is doing its part to support the voting initiative. CEO Brad Edwards appeared in a “Get Out & Vote” video message that has been seen by thousands of NFL fans on social media. “One of the most valuable rights we have as Americans is the right to vote for the next President of the United States, for Congressional members and for many state and local officials,” Edwards says in the video (seen here).
It is not surprising that in a community as large and diverse as our Alumni membership that you retired players are on both sides of the political aisle when it comes to campaigning for the next President. For example, in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, media reports list Mel Blount and Jerome Bettis as Vice President Kamala Harris supporters while Jack Lambert and Le’Veon Bell favor former President Donald Trump.
Regardless of which candidate YOU support, we at the Alumni national office encourage you to let your voice be heard by voting in the upcoming election.
