COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced, on National Voter Registration Day, that it has joined the Sacramento Kings-led “Rally the Vote,” a nonpartisan coalition with When We All Vote and RISE. The Coalition is comprised of professional sports franchises across the country committed to encouraging fans to register to vote and participate in elections. The effort now includes more than 40 professional sports teams across MLS, NWSL, NBA, WNBA, MLB and NHL.
► ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION
Joining the coalition aligns with the Club’s support of Major League Soccer’s “MLS Unites to Vote” initiative launched last week. Last Thursday, MLS, Black Players for Change (BPC) and the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) announced the launch of “MLS Unites to Vote,” a league-wide, non-partisan initiative to help players, staff and fans register to vote and participate in this year’s election. MLS Unites to Vote, which began in advance of National Black Voter Day (Friday, Sept. 18) and National Voter Registration Day (today, Tuesday, Sept. 22), aims to educate the MLS community on the voting process, drive voter registration, and encourage volunteerism on Election Day.
“Central to the mission of our Club, the Columbus Crew SC fully embraces its responsibility to give back to Central Ohio and promote dialogue on important issues that impact the community,” said Crew SC Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Steve Lyons. “We are proud to join this effort to encourage fans to make their voices heard. Through this nonpartisan coalition and the work already being done by ‘MLS Unites to Vote,’ we are urging our supporters in Columbus and across the country to register to vote and participate in elections. By teaming up with ‘Rally The Vote’ and leveraging the strength of our MLS platform ahead of Election Day, we are committed to doing our part to give our fans a voice.”
► HOW TO VOTE EARLY, IN-PERSON, OR BY ABSENTEE BALLOT, PLUS MORE INFO
In partnership with When We All Vote and RISE, Rally the Vote was relaunched to help address the voter registration gap. The coalition has been designed to leverage team digital platforms to directly reach tens of millions of fans nationwide to promote civic participation by increasing the amount of new registrations and ensuring all of those who register to vote cast a ballot in the 2020 general election. When We All Vote and RISE, two national nonpartisan nonprofits focused year-round on raising public awareness about the importance of voting, are providing important resources to participating teams such as custom online voter register portals for fans and voter education and registration curriculum for players, employees and community partners.
The coalition was originally launched by the Kings on September 25, 2018 (National Voter Registration Day) as the first time sports franchises from different leagues came together to provide fans a seamless way to register to vote. In 2018, the nine-team effort reached millions of people online and registered thousands of voters in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections.
Additional information on MLS Unites to Vote is available at the following link.
Crew SC hosts Minnesota United FC on Wednesday, September 23 [7:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports GO (Stream) / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)]. Wednesday’s home contest will be the fourth all-time regular-season meeting between the Black & Gold and the Loons, with the Crew holding an all-time regular-season winning record of 2-1-0.
