Lyft’s New Voting Initiative Will Help Voters Get to the Polls on Election Day

Over 15 million people cited transportation as their primary barrier to voting in the 2016 election — that’s why we’re introducing The Ride to Vote. Lyft will provide free and discounted rides to the Polls. #TheRidetoVote https://t.co/E8GVhNNkE8 pic.twitter.com/1kmqWlSpsB

— Lyft (@lyft) August 23, 2018

The U.S. midterm elections are coming up, and it’s incredibly important for people to get out there and vote.

People don’t vote for a number of reasons—voter suppression and burdens involving time and transport disproportionately affect marginalized populations. For instance, in Georgia, the Randolph County Board of Elections and Registration planned to close nearly 80% of voting sites in a predominately black and low-income county. Putting residents in a situation where they might have to walk over 3 hours to vote, of course, puts candidate Stacey Abrams—who could very soon become America’s first black female governor—at a disadvantage.

It could be a huge deal in the midterms that ride-sharing app Lyft will lend its services to getting voters to the polls. The company cites a study from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, which estimates over 15 million registered voters didn’t vote in 2016 “because of transportation issues.”

Lyft writes that on Election day, November 6th, they will provide 50% off rides across the country and free rides to “underserved communities that face significant obstacles to transportation.”

The initiative is a collaboration with a number of organizations. Lyft is working with Vote.org, Nonprofit Vote, TurboVote, and other partners to “distribute codes to those who need them” and “help passengers find their polling location.” They’re also working with “nonpartisan, nonprofit partners” like “Voto Latino, local Urban League affiliates, and the National Federation of the Blind.” By partnering with When We All Vote and National Voter Registration Day, they’ll also be reminding passengers about voter registration, supplying drivers with handouts and voter info, offering registration for Lyft office employees, and more.

You can read more about The Ride to Vote here.

(featured image: Pkg203 on Wikimedia Commons, cropped)

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