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Election day in the United States is not a national holiday. That makes it significantly more difficult for people to vote, and that’s before voter suppression laws and intimidation policies. In addition to those measures, many people already feel like their vote doesn’t matter.
It’s why the U.S. has an embarrassingly low rate of voter turnout. In 2016, 56 percent of the population turned out to vote. The overwhelming majority of other developed countries have higher — often substantially so — voter turnout rates.
Because of the backwardness of the approach to voting in the U.S., private organizations — in states where voting isn’t a holiday — must often take it upon themselves to allow employees to get to the polls during business hours. 49ers CEO Jed York on Monday retweeted a tweet from the Minnesota Timberwolves, stating that the organization would make election day a holiday. York suggested that the 49ers will do the same.
Great message. The @49ers are definitely on board with this https://t.co/N1MS8ghhmd
— Jed York (@JedYork) June 16, 2020