FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]
— Rally the Vote to Become a Campaign of When We All Vote —
— NBA, WNBA, MLB, MLS, NHL and NWSL Teams Unite to Promote Civic Engagement –
Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the Sacramento Kings and When We All Vote announced an expansive partnership to relaunch Rally the Vote, a nonpartisan coalition founded by the Kings to increase civic engagement by leveraging professional sports team platforms. Rally the Vote will formally become a campaign of When We All Vote, combining the nonprofit’s educational resources and voter registration technology with the Kings’ robust professional sports network and coalition-building experience. This partnership builds on the two organizations’ successful collaborations in 2018 and 2020 to expand Rally the Vote to more than 50 professional sports franchises across multiple leagues.
“Over the past two election cycles, Rally the Vote has become a groundbreaking nonpartisan movement that demonstrates the ability of sports to create positive change,” said Sacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “My life’s work has been to remove friction from our daily lives and Rally the Vote makes the process of participating in democracy as seamless as possible. I am proud of the work we have done to lead this effort in partnership with an incredible coalition of professional sports teams and organizations like When We All Vote. Today’s announcement is an exciting next chapter for Rally the Vote, providing more opportunities to connect with fans and promote civic engagement.”
“Democracy is not a spectator sport. We all have to get in the game and make our voices heard in each and every election, and the Rally the Vote Coalition will ensure fans across the country get registered and cast their votes at the ballot box,” said When We All Vote Executive Director Stephanie L. Young. “Even though we saw record voter turnout in 2020, we know that a lot of people tend to watch the midterm elections from the sidelines. But there is too much at stake: all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 35 out of 100 Senators and countless elected officials in our local and state governments are on the ballot. That is what makes the work of this coalition and When We All Vote so important.”
When We All Vote is a leading, national nonpartisan initiative focused on changing the culture around voting and increasing election participation by closing the race and age voting gap. Through this enhanced partnership, When We All Vote will provide Rally the Vote coalition members with an individualized and custom branded, user-friendly online voter registration team portal, access to a data dashboard to monitor and track voter registration impact, as well as educational resources, digital content and dedicated staff support. This announcement comes ahead of When We All Vote’s National Ramp Up the Vote Rally to build momentum around voter registration and turnout on August 25.
In addition to the Sacramento Kings, Rally the Vote 2022 coalition members include the following teams: Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, Connecticut Sun, Denver Nuggets, Houston Dash, Houston Dynamo FC, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New England Revolution, Oakland Athletics, Portland Trail Blazers and San Francisco Giants.
The Kings initially launched Rally the Vote in 2018 with 9 teams and expanded the coalition to more than 50 professional sports franchises in 2020. To date, this effort has reached millions of fans and registered thousands of voters across the U.S. ahead of the mid-term election in 2018 and general election in 2020.
For more information, to register to vote and take action visit rallythevote.org.
ABOUT When We All Vote:
When We All Vote is a leading national, nonpartisan initiative on a mission to change the culture around voting and to increase participation in each and every election by helping to close the race and age gap. Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organizations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for the entire family and voters of every age to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come. We empower our supporters and volunteers to take action through voting, advocating for their rights, and holding their elected officials accountable.
In 2020, When We All Vote ran a robust, multifaceted campaign and reached more than 100 million people to educate them about the voting process and get them registered and ready to vote. The initiative also led in voter education, registration, and volunteer engagement and as a result, 512,000 people started or completed the voter registration process, and nearly 500 media, corporate, and nonprofit partners joined its efforts.
Michelle Obama launched When We All Vote in 2018 and is joined by fellow Co-Chairs Stephen Curry, Becky G, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, H.E.R., Liza Koshy, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes, Bretman Rock, Kerry Washington, and Rita Wilson.
When We All Vote is an initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization, and works with Civic Nation Action, a 501(c)(4). Learn more here.
ABOUT Civic Nation:
Civic Nation is a nonprofit ecosystem for high-impact organizing and education initiatives working to build a more inclusive and equitable America. Civic Nation shifts culture, systems, and policy by bringing together individuals, grassroots organizers, industry leaders and influencers to tackle some of our nation’s most pressing social challenges. Civic Nation is home to seven national initiatives and campaigns: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Change Collective, It’s On Us, Online for All, SAVE On Student Debt, We The Action, and When We All Vote. Learn more here.