As election officials and voting rights groups in several states lose their fight to allow for mail-in voting to slow the spread of the coronavirus, three NBA teams are stepping up and volunteering their facilities to serve as voting sites during the pandemic.
The Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks are the first teams to offer their spaces. This gesture could make a major impact on the presidential race this fall, as more than a third of the league’s teams are each located in battleground states.
“We want people to exercise their right and we want to be a part of helping them do so,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told NPR.
The Hawks’ arena will be configured to hold hundreds of ballot machines spaced throughout the arena to allow for social distancing, and hundreds of its staffers will be trained as poll workers. Venues in Detroit and Milwaukee will function in the same manner.
The offers come as many of NBA African American players have voiced their support of social causes following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
The three teams plan to launch additional efforts including public service announcements from players and voter registration events to raise voter awareness and participation.
The group organizing this effort, More Than A Vote, has commended the NBA franchises’ advocacy, while also encouraging others with the challenge: “Who’s got next?”
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