During a year filled with loss, separation and uncertainty, there was a spirit of hope found in the unique efforts and community-building measures that business leaders supported in order to instill positivity in the civic-process.
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There is no denying that democracy had a banner year in 2020. More people cast a ballot than at any other point in American history, with an estimated 158 million people making their voice heard in our political process.
This also marked the highest voter turnout rate (66 percent of eligible people) since universal enfranchisement—and the year with higher-than-average turnout among those traditionally underrepresented in our government, with over half young people showing up. And Tuesday’s Senate runoffs are shaping up to have even higher turnout.
The record-breaking season for democracy, and perhaps our democracy’s long-term survival, is owed in no small part to the brands and influencers who found engaging, creative and bold new ways to help young voters navigate an often unclear electoral process—creating a widespread culture of both promoting and celebrating civic participation. Brands of all genres stepped up to encourage employees and consumers to make their voice heard amidst a global health crisis, devastating unemployment rates, growing unrest over racial injustice, and changes to the laws that govern our electoral process.
During a year filled with loss, separation and uncertainty, there was a spirit of hope found in the unique efforts and community-building measures that business leaders supported in order to instill positivity in the civic-process.
So, what exactly are some of the trends that emerged during this prolific election year, and how can we capitalize on them to further voter participation and civic action in the future?
To understand where trends in promoting democracy are headed, it’s important to put into perspective the myriad ways in which businesses and industry leaders contributed to unprecedented turnout in 2020.
Recruiting a New Generation of Poll Workers
First, during the pandemic, most states faced massive shortages of people to staff in-person polling places because their traditional (older) volunteers were more vulnerable to COVID-19. Companies like Comedy Central, Levi’s, Patagonia, TheSkimm, Uber, Old Navy, Tory Burch and Zoom stepped up to actively promote Power the Polls, an initiative aimed at recruiting a new generation of younger poll workers.
Trevor Noah promoted Power the Polls regularly on The Daily Show for weeks, inspiring thousands of young people to volunteer to serve their local community at such a critical moment. Feminist celebrities like Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross created tongue-in-cheek “Work the Polls” posts encouraging their audiences to sign up to serve.
In partnership with nonprofit organizations, these actions helped Power the Polls recruit more than 750,000 poll workers and filled critical gaps that made in-person voting on Election Day rather seamless nationwide.
Promoting Alternative Voting Options
Second, in an effort to mitigate long lines at polling places, companies made a concerted effort to promote alternate voting options, like absentee voting (by mail) and in-person early voting (some even gave their employees paid time off to do so).
Brands took on the role of not only letting the public know they had these options, but also disseminating important details like each state’s deadline for requesting an absentee ballot, the days and times early voting was available, and where to find voting locations. Companies like MTV and Snapchat invested heavily in demystifying the early voting process for young people, even creating a civic holiday called Vote Early Day on October 24 to increase awareness further.
This all helped drive an unprecedented number of Americans (101 million) to cast a ballot before Election Day—more than double the early vote turnout in 2016.
Ensuring Correct Voter Registration
Third, because of the rise in early and absentee voting, ensuring voters were registered at their current addresses in 2020 was crucial.
On National Voter Registration Day, which is celebrated on the third Tuesday of September, it was nearly impossible for Americans to escape a reminder to register to vote. Emails went out to consumers from brands like United Airlines, Instacart and Glossier; brick-and-mortar locations like McDonald’s and Kaiser Permanente had reminders posted up in-house; digital services like Zillow created an online voter registration resource for renters; social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat embedded reminders directly into product; and thousands more took to their own feeds to help millions of Americans get on the voting rolls in 2020.
Sounding the Alarm
Finally, brands responded swiftly to issues they saw in the primary election, such as particularly long lines at polling places due to social distancing requirements.
Not wanting anyone to have to choose between casting a ballot or going hungry, companies like UberEats, MilkBar and Shake Shack partnered with the nonprofit Pizza to the Polls to deliver beverages and snacks to polling places nationwide. The success of this program depended on people reporting long lines in their local communities through the nonprofit’s website.
In order for our democracy to remain healthy and active, these efforts will need to continue beyond just today (even in a year of record breaking turnout, 80 million Americans still didn’t cast a ballot in the 2020 election).
To increase voter participation in years to come, even higher record numbers of Americans will need to register to vote, vote early, volunteer as poll workers, and make sure long lines don’t interfere with people’s abilities or desires to vote. There is so much opportunity ahead to ensure elections remain accessible, to empower people to sign up to work at their local polling location, and to make sure voters feel celebrated for showing up to exercise their civic duty.
Brands that waded in to the topic of democracy for the first time in 2020 need to strategize around how to make civic engagement a core component of their marketing and social responsibility plans going forward. And despite record turnout in 2020, there is work to be done to restore the health of—and citizens’ faith and trust in—our democracy.
Companies must use their influence and find innovative ways to engage their consumers and employees in an ongoing conversation about how our government works, the importance of active participation in electing our public officials, and why civic engagement is everyone’s business.
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