Employee Voter Registration Week Nets Over 50,000 Downloaded Voter Registration Forms

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 100 private sector employers, trade associations, state chambers of commerce, and business coalitions united for Employee Voter Registration Week, which took place from September 22 – 26, 2014 with a goal to increase voter registration among private sector employees. 

The Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC) powered the grassroots initiative that netted over 50,000 new voter registration form downloads in the network during the business week and formally kicked off the Employees Vote initiative.  Additional feedback from participants showed employees updated voter registration information directly with the state or registered through other third party channels that could not be measured quantitatively.

BIPAC's Get Out The Vote programs began early in the primary season and will continue until November 4.

Market research shows that the employer is three times more credible than any other source when communicating credible information on political issues and elections that affect workers.  Conversations and educational initiatives lead to more knowledgeable voters on Election Day.  On the ground best-practice workshops were conducted by BIPAC, industry trade associations, and state chambers of commerce across the U.S. – beginning in Idaho on January 15 – to motivate, educate, empower, and train employers in how to conduct this form of employer-to-employee advocacy.  Upcoming sessions are scheduled in Colorado, Iowa, and North Carolina in October.

In 2000, the Prosperity Project (P2) was established by BIPAC and its member organizations to deliver the online tools and grassroots strategy needed to mobilize the business community.  During the last election cycle, in 2012, the network delivered 232 million employer-to-employee messages that generated 2.7 million new voter forms being downloaded, and 1.95 million letters to policy makers. 

"In 2012 there were 112 million private sector employees and of that 73 million were registered to vote.  Of those that were registered to vote, 86% of them voted," said BIPAC President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory S. Casey at an Employee Voter Registration Week press conference on September 24 at the National Retail Federation (NRF).  "During Midterm years, only one out of three eligible American voters make their voice heard.  We can do better.  This effort will help to make sure that the voices of employers and employees are resoundingly heard," said Casey.

Speakers at the press conference included senior leaders from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Nation Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and the NRF.

"Collectively we represent about 62 million employees," said Lisa Goeas, vice president of political and grassroots at the NFIB, at the press event – speaking on behalf of the 300,000 small and independent business members that she represents.  NFIB members on average have 10 employees.

Employee Voter Registration Week highlighted the continued efforts of the private sector community to join the conversation about the election process.  The effort recognizes that America works better when Americans vote.   It does not tell employees how to vote or who to vote for, but instead aims to serve as a resource to help employers educate their employees about the issues that are important to their industries and provide key deadlines, voter registration, and polling location information. 

Nearly every state and the District of Columbia have a registration pre-requisite and require current voter registration information on file to authorize an individual to vote in any given local, state, or federal election.  The Employees Vote campaign centralizes all of this information and offers online functionality to make voting easier.  This voting information is published in seven languages.

About BIPAC
The Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC) was founded in 1963 as "an independent, bipartisan group," to serve as a political action arm for American business and industry. BIPAC provides its members with the tools and strategies they need to keep their employees abreast of the key policy decisions impacting their livelihood, and opportunities to get involved in the public policy process. BIPAC helps state business organizations impact political outcomes beyond the beltway, through the nation's largest employee-focused grassroots network in the states. BIPAC provides meaningful political analysis to keep members informed, crafts forward thinking election strategies, and deploys cutting-edge PAC and grassroots tools and technology to power the business community's engines of advocacy.  Learn more at: http://www.bipac.org

Contact: Jason Langsner
[email protected] | Direct (202) 776-7468

SOURCE BIPAC