LeBron James’ group, More Than A Vote, released its first ad today. The thirty second spot aims to recruit young poll workers for the upcoming election.
“America is facing a record shortage in poll workers,” More Than A Vote tweeted, “and communities of color are the hardest hit. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Narrated by Blazers star CJ McCollum, the video opens with photos of professional athletes from the NBA (James and Anthony Davis), WNBA, NFL (Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson) and WTA (Naomi Osaka) demonstrating against racism. The rest of the commercial shows videos from the past and present underlying the importance of organizing, peacefully protesting, and voting.
“We’ve got to keep doing the work, because our right to be heard won’t be taken away on our watch,” McCollum says.
The ad dropped on social media this morning. It will air on TV tonight during the Eastern Conference finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
You can watch the full video below.
Another idea put forth by More Than A Vote is stadium voting, where sports arenas turn into large election supercenters. These spaces aim to be used as additional polling locations for registration, early voting and election day voting.
A number of stadiums have already signed up to host voters.
Whether you’re voting in the stadium or in the booth, an abundance of poll workers will be necessary to provide a smooth election.
Poll centers are usually staffed by older Americans, which pose a risk when it comes to COVID-19. Although the virus is still a threat to younger Americans, they are less likely to die and become severely impacted by the virus. As More Than A Vote argues, young people could be the ones to step up this election, particularly in communities of color and where voter suppression hits hardest.
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