Patagonia, Lyft, Walmart among hundreds of companies giving workers time off to vote in the 2020 ele

[Judi Lynn]

Patagonia, Lyft, Walmart among hundreds of companies giving workers time off to vote in the 2020 election
Published Thu, Feb 20 20205:22 PM EST
Jennifer Liu
@JLJENNIFERLIU

The U.S. has some of the lowest voter participation rates among developed countries: Roughly 56% of the U.S. voting-age population voted in the 2016 presidential election, according to Pew Research Center. That’s far behind the 87% of voting-age Belgians who took part in their nationwide election in 2014.

The latest group working to improve these numbers? Company CEOs.

This week, 383 companies joined the nonpartisan Time to Vote coalition to encourage workers to cast their ballots in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In doing so, company leaders pledge to encourage workers to vote, including giving employees paid time off on Election Day, providing access to and information about early voting or vote-by-mail options, or making Nov. 3 a day without meetings.

Many registered voters cited a lack of interest or a conflicting schedule as reasons why they didn’t participate in the 2016 presidential election. But by providing time off to vote during the workday, business leaders hope to encourage workers to cast their ballots without having to forgo paid hours.

More:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/20/these-companies-are-giving-workers-time-off-to-vote-in-2020-election.html

[MontanaMama]

1. My husband and I own two small businesses

that employ a total of 8 people. We give paid time off for our employees to vote. I pay for their lunch too if they vote on their lunch hour. I know it’s only 8 people ... but I still think it matters.

[Hoyt]

2. Fortunately, in my red state we have 30 day early voting and can mail in ballots. No excuse

for not voting.