CASE STUDY
More Than a Vote
MISSION
Recruiting poll workers during the pandemic
Challenge
LeBron James’s More Than a Vote campaign had been working to protect voting rights and increase Black voter turnout when they noticed that many places lacked enough poll workers, a trend worsened by the ongoing pandemic. Without sufficient poll workers, voters could face long lines, polling place closures, and other obstacles that reduce voter turnout and disenfranchise voters. Even with many states adding vote by mail options due to the pandemic, it was essential to make sure that states had enough poll workers to run Election Day smoothly.
Approach
50+1 worked with More Than a Vote to run an aggressive digital advertising campaign to recruit poll workers. Working with the NAACP LDF, More Than a Vote identified key communities where a lack of poll workers could create barriers to voting — especially for Black voters. By partnering with major celebrities like CJ McCollum of the Portland Trailblazers and President Barack Obama, we were able to get significant organic spread for our campaign and much lower costs per poll worker recruited.
Results
Over 42,000 Americans signed up to be poll workers in communities across the country. With our voting infrastructure reliant on having enough poll workers to prevent long lines and delays, our work was able to help ensure Americans were able to exercise their right to vote even during the pandemic.
