Allow me first to give credit to where the story is coming from…
For any who haven’t clicked yet, State Farm Arena, in Fulton County Georgia, home of the NBA Atlanta Hawks is being turned into a massive polling place for upcoming elections, including the general. The logistics have been worked out, the okays have been given by local officials, and it will serve as a polling place for primaries, early voting and election day!
In a normal year, the Arena might be busy on election day, but of course, this is no normal year. No NBA games will be played during the month of November, as the league will be winding down their ‘bubble’ season and be getting ready for a new season in late December. This means that every NBA city (29 major US Cities) will have an open arena that can do the same thing. Think about it. Major arenas with ample room for social distance voting. Large parking lots to handle the ebb and flow of people coming to vote by car, bus, or rickshaw. And most importantly, a lot larger lens to view all the shenanigans the Republican party plans to impose with their ‘voter fraud inspectors’ or whatever the Hell they decide to call themselves. This is a win -win- win.
Also, this is something that can happen in many more cities. There are plenty of minor league basketball, hockey, even baseball teams that could offer the same type of service to their communities, thereby decongesting polling places and having arena workers facilitating the process, instead of your 95 year old covid-19 susceptible grandfather.
Please, let this great idea catch fire and take root all across the country. It is already happening in Georgia.
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2020 · 3:42:55 AM +00:00
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kalspa
A lot of good discussion is happening below, with healthy skepticism, but since I have the honor of the bully pulpit with this story, allow me to add a few points:
1) No, this does not replace the positives of voting by mail. That should be an option for everyone in the country, no reason needed.
2) Yes, logistics of transportation could be a problem. But I believe that is where strong community action can step up to make this a reality. Groups like, “Souls to the Polls” and other voter transportation drives could help, especially with time to plan.
3) Since the arena will be open for early voting as well, that can help with the voter log jams and transportation issues.
4) In a perfect, Covid-19 free world, local polling places a block from your house would be best. But think about how many safe, socially distanced voting booths you can have in a local school cafeteria. Now, think of how many you can have in an arena. It is smart fix, even if it is just for the current situation.