A national group of partners representing media companies, nonprofits, technology platforms, election administrators, foundations, influencers, and other businesses is collaborating to create Vote Early Day, the first holiday designed to help all eligible voters learn about their voting options and celebrate the act of voting early. 

The national event is set for Saturday, October 24 when the majority of states have in-person early voting options and most voters will still have enough time to request absentee ballots for Election Day. 

Vote Early Day is a collaborative, open-source model – similar to Giving Tuesday and National Voter Registration Day – which will help ensure that millions more Americans take advantage of their options to vote early. Over 200 million Americans can now vote early in some way. While nearly all Americans can vote early there is some confusion about options, especially as election laws continue to change.
 
Voting early simplifies processes for election administrators, makes it easier for people juggling family and work responsibilities to participate, and keeps lines shorter on Election Day. Celebrating Vote Early Day will make it easier for voters to understand their options and could create a tipping point in how Americans vote.

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS

"Every rite of passage is celebrated in order to mark its importance and that is why we are proud to bring together over 70 world-class brands, NGOs and public officials to create a new national holiday to help voters celebrate and ritualize the act of voting early," said Chris McCarthy, President of MTV and ViacomCBS Youth & Entertainment Brands.

"Depending on the state you live in, you may be able to vote-by-mail or vote in-person several days prior to Election Day. In California, voters have both options. As a member of the Vote Early Day Elections Administrator Advisory Board, I look forward to encouraging and educating voters throughout the country about their voting options," said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
 
"Seven million Georgia voters are currently casting their votes early on the Peach State’s new verifiable, paper-ballot voting system. Georgia voter registration has surged thanks to what has been described as the gold standard in ballot access policy, including automatic voter registration and no-excuse absentee balloting. Now, a record number of Georgians are able to enjoy the state’s three-week early voting period. I look forward to working with MTV, the Democracy Fund, and the National Disability Rights Network as well as other partners in government and the private sector to support the Vote Early Day effort," said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
 
"The 2020 election is already seeing record levels of interest. Voting early this year is a way to be sure your own ballot counts and it helps keep lines short for everyone else on Election Day. Vote Early Day is exactly the kind of collaborative approach to educating voters we champion," said Najma Roberts, Director of Communications, Democracy Fund.
 
"Our election processes can be intimidating to any voter, but especially first-time voters. We are excited to serve on the Vote Early Day Steering Committee to help invite all voters, particularly first-time voters and student voters, into our democratic process by ensuring they know what voting options are available to them and feel comfortable and confident exercising their right," said Clarissa Unger, Director, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.
 
PARTNERS

A group of over 65 premier partners is committed to activating their constituents and employees on Vote Early Day, including ViacomCBS and Snap, Inc. as well as The League of Women Voters and National League of Cities (full list detailed below). The holiday also includes an Election Administrator Advisory Board, which is helmed by Sec. Brad Raffensperger (R-GA) and Sec. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and a Steering Committee of brands and nonprofits that are driving the strategy and planning. Companies and organizations can inquire about participating in Vote Early Day at voteearlyday.org.

Confirmed Premier Partners: 

The Ad Council 

Alliance for Youth Organizing 

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

Andrew Goodman Foundation 

Anonymous Content 

APIA Vote

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC 

BallotReady 

Ben & Jerry’s  

BET  

BuzzFeed

CAA Foundation*

Campus Election Engagement Project

Campus Vote Project 

Campus YMCA 

Center for Tech & Civic Life*

Civic Alliance* 

Country Music Television (CMT)

Comedy Central

Defending Democracy Together

Democracy Fund

DoSomething.org 

The Feminist Majority Foundation

Harness 

HeadCount 

Hillel International 

Hispanic Heritage Foundation

Hispanics in Philanthropy

IMAX 

Kenneth Cole Productions

LeadMN 

League of Women Voters

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Levi Strauss & Co.

LogoTV

Lush 

March For Our Lives 

MOVE Texas 

MTV*

NAACP 

National Disability Rights Network

National League of Cities 

Nonprofit VOTE 

Paramount Network 

Patagonia 

PayPal 

Phone2Action

Poder Latinx* 

Reddit 

Refinery29 

REI Co-op

Rise

SB Projects

Snap, Inc*

StudentPIRGs

Students Learn Students Vote Coalition*

sweetgreen

Twitter* 

TV Land 

Univision*

USA Today 

US Conference of Mayors

UnidosUS 

United Way

VH1

ViacomCBS*

Vote at Home 

#VoteTogether 

When We All Vote

WME

*Steering Committee Member