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Ash Center Senior Research Fellow Toba Wang and NFL Network Analyst Scott Pioli answer questions about how sports teams can foster civic engagement.
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In recent years, professional sports teams have stepped up their civic engagement efforts, from voter education to voting promotions. These citizen engagement efforts took a new turn during the 2020 election, when social distancing requirements during the pandemic encouraged local election officials to partner with sports teams to use stadiums as voting locations. It was done. As the country prepares for elections this November, will sports teams continue to play an important role in driving voter participation?
To better understand how teams can play a role in fostering civic engagement, the Ashe Center collaborated with Toba Wang, senior fellow in democratic practice at the Ashe Center, and NFL Network analyst Scott・I spoke to Mr. Pioli.
For the first time, the 2020 election saw the widespread use of stadiums and arenas as voting locations. Looking back, how effective was the idea of using sports venues as polling places? Did voters use them in large numbers?
Toba Wang: The stadium and arena voting was a huge success for everyone: election officials, teams, and voters. Forty-eight professional basketball, football, hockey, and baseball stadiums were used as voting centers. The use of stadiums and arenas allows for shorter lines, easier parking, and a more enjoyable experience. A 2022 post-UMD poll found that 77 percent of Americans approve of using sports stadiums as voting venues in 2020. While we don't know the overall numbers, we do know that State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, processed 50,000 voters alone. 2020.
If only the benefits of citizen participation were this clear. Why don't more teams start their own civic engagement efforts? Is there a concern that this work could be interpreted as overly political, especially in today's highly partisan political environment? Is it in your team?
Scott Pioli: There are quite a few teams that have great public engagement programs, and groups like RISE work with them on public engagement programs. But not many people regularly open their spaces for voting. Now that we know how much these teams and facilities contribute to their communities and how good they are at doing it, it's an easy way for teams to give back. And what's interesting is that athletes are driving the vote. do not have controversial. A recent University of Maryland Washington Post poll found that “Americans are divided on whether athletes should speak out on behalf of social and political causes, but sports that advocate voting rights It's clear that we support the players.” Bipartisan efforts to encourage voter participation are indisputable. That being said, I think there are unfortunately still some teams out there who are concerned about how polarizing this effort is, when voting rights and access shouldn't be what they should be.
