The “on demand” transportation company, Lyft, is teaming up with @WhenWeAllVote to offer free and/or discounted rides to register to vote and to the polls this November for those who can’t afford transportation or have difficulty getting to the polls to cast their ballots.
Here is the tweet by Lyft.
Over 15 million people cited transportation as their primary barrier to voting in the 2016 election — that’s why we’re introducing The Ride to Vote. Lyft will provide free and discounted rides to the Polls. #TheRidetoVote https://lft.to/2Pxu0Ck
The posted tweet:
Here is the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s response:
A short video by Michelle Obama on why she votes and how we all must vote.
Here is the full press release from Lyft.com.
The Ride to Vote: Use Lyft to Exercise Your Rights
At Lyft, we’re working to improve lives by connecting people and their communities through the world’s best transportation. This Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 6), we want to help people across America exercise their right to vote.
It is estimated that over 15 million people were registered but didn’t vote in 2016 because of transportation issues.1 That’s why we’re committed to providing 50% off rides across the country, and free rides to underserved communities that face significant obstacles to transportation.2 More details on our plan:
- Across the country, we’ll give away 50% off promo codes with our partners that encourage voter turnout. We’re thrilled to be working with Vote.org, Nonprofit Vote, TurboVote and more to help distribute codes to those who need them. We’ll also have a product integration to help passengers find their polling location.
- For underserved communities, we’ll provide rides free of cost through nonpartisan, nonprofit partners, including Voto Latino, local Urban League affiliates, and the National Federation of the Blind.
We know that getting to the polls is only one part of the voting process. We’re also committed to making it easier to register to vote and learn about important ballot initiatives. We’re partnering with When We All Vote and National Voter Registration Day to ensure Lyft’s passengers, drivers, and broader community are prepared for Election Day. We’ll:
- Remind Lyft passengers about voter registration deadlines using various social media and platform tools (e.g. push notifications)
- Give drivers voter registration handouts and key voter information at Hub locations
- Offer in-office voter registration for employees at our offices
- Offer comprehensive, online voter information through our partner organizations
- Encourage our community to make a plan in advance for Election Day, which has a proven impact on voter turnout rates3
Your voice is important! We’re excited to help make it heard in this year’s elections.
As an aside, it’s said that if all Democrats turn up to vote, Democrats should win every election. If that is the case, there is no reason for Democrats to not to win. So if you are a Democratic. get.registered this week and vote not to win.
Big thanks to Logan Green (Lyft CEO) and John Zimmer (Lyft President) for their admirable offer to help people vote by putting their money where our mouths (cars) are. May other mega companies/corporations follow their lead.
(Special thanks to Robin Romans.)