Every Vote Counts Enlists 240 College Campuses to Send "Time Off to Vote" Letter to Corporate America

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Every Vote Counts (EVC)—a student-led, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter turnout and expanding voter access nationwide—announced that it has sent out a coalition letter on behalf of more than 240 college campuses, urging corporate America to make "time off to vote" a top priority. On behalf of schools that represent nearly five million students, the letter shows that America's next generation of young professionals is concerned about civic participation and sees the business community as an important ally in broadening voter participation this election cycle.

You can read the letter here.

EVC specifically recommends company-wide policies that grant employees two hours of paid leave to vote on Election Day. It is a recommendation made by the student body presidents (or equivalent positions) at some of America's most well-known academic institutions, such as Duke University, Stanford University, and Yale University. From private colleges and community colleges to public universities, the entire spectrum of academia is represented in EVC's letter, which has been distributed to the CEOs or U.S. heads of nearly 600 companies that are in the S&P 500 or hire a significant number of recent graduates.

"America's non-voters regularly list scheduling conflicts as a major barrier to the ballot box, and they disproportionately affect college students and young professionals," said EVC Executive Director Campbell Streator. "By granting employees paid time off to vote, U.S. employers can do their part to expand voter turnout in 2020 and the elections to come. Many employers, such as Levi Strauss & Company, are already taking the lead on pro-voter reforms, but Americans need all companies joining together to solve the voter-turnout problem."

"We know that people are more likely to work for, buy from, and recommend businesses that promote democracy," said Mike Ward, co-founder of Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan community of businesses building a future in which everyone participates in shaping America. "We're more encouraged than ever by, not only the rise in young voter participation, but also in the energy demonstrated by young people for organizational and institutional change."

For more information, please visit TO2V.org.

SOURCE Every Vote Counts

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