As November approaches, much of the focus on the 2020 presidential election centers on making voting—and especially voting by mail—as accessible as possible. But voter access is still a bigger picture issue. Given that the nation continues to face the novel coronavirus pandemic without real guidance from our federal government, poll worker turnout in November is a considerable concern. Now, major retailer Old Navy is offering an incentive for its store employees to work the polls.
Old Navy is working in partnership with Civic Alliance and Power the Polls to get 250,000 new poll workers, and it’s offering store employees eight hours of pay for poll work, as reported by CNN. If applicable, employees may also receive pay from their local election commissions for their work.
Nancy Green, CEO of Old Navy, said in a news release: “Every voice in this country matters and deserves to be heard at the polls, and if we at Old Navy can be even a small part of making that process more accessible to the communities we call home, we are on board.”
Old Navy is far from the only retailer to offer voting incentives. Patagonia, for example, will close all of its retail locations, headquarters, and distribution center on Election Day—and pay employees as a holiday. Ben & Jerry’s, Coca Cola, Uber, Cisco, and Twitter also offer Nov. 3 as a paid day off. Starbucks has said it will give employees flexibility on voting day, while Walmart will give workers pay for three hours. Apple is offering four hours of pay.
Why is it so important to get people to not only vote, but work the polls? First of all, the ongoing issue is tied to voter suppression—particularly against Black and brown voters—and a lack of polling places and enough poll workers can lead to ridiculously long wait times. In terms of the pandemic, however, it’s important to look at the demographics of most of our poll workers.
Older people make up a lot of our poll workers, and from what we know about the pandemic, older people may be particularly vulnerable to the virus. In 2018, for example, the majority of poll workers were over 60-years-old. So it’s not terribly surprising that since COVID-19 hit, poll workers have begun calling out. That means now is the time for new people to get involved as poll workers, and make sure they do so with enough time to get proper training. It’s also imperative that we protect the United States Postal Service and keep voting by mail as accessible as possible.
Cancel Donald Trump's blatant voter suppression. Get on the phones with Trunout2020, and help walk swing state voters through the process of getting an absentee ballot now. It's one of the most effective phone banking work you can do. When you sign up, please remember to mark "Daily Kos" as the volunteer team that recruited you.
