The arena will be open for early and day-of voting for the November 3 elections.
The pandemic has forced cities to reinvent themselves in the face of the upcoming presidential elections. As city officials look for new venues in which facilitate social distancing several public venues, like basketball arenas and concert venues, have been repurposed for the task and Capital One Arena is now one of them.
The basketball arena has now officially joined several other NBA arenas in providing a safe and socially-distanced environment for voters when they head to cast their ballot on November 3. The proposal was first brought up by Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE)–owner and operator of Capital One Arena–late last month as part of its campaign to encourage people to vote in the November elections.
“Given the footprint of the arena and the requisite social distancing protocols in place because of COVID-19, MSE is in discussions with the DC Board of Elections and the Executive Office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser regarding the possibility of using the arena as a polling location for the November 2020 election,” reads a July 22 statement on MSE’s website. “A separate announcement will be made as further details become available if the parties determine that the arena is an appropriate polling location, and if all applicable logistics are worked through,” the company had noted.”
MSE also announced it had designated all federal, general election days will be a company-wide, paid day off to encourage employee turnout on Election Day. Employees will also be given time to receive training to serve as election workers in the DMV area.
The announcement comes as city officials are finalizing the 20 locations for the early voting sites which are set to open during a two-week period prior to the November 3 and the 80 locations for day-of voting.
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[featured image: @dswartz, Instagram]