Want to increase voter turnout? Start with the workplace
Where You Work Shapes Whether You Vote
In Fortune, two Leadership Now members make the case that employers hold one of the strongest levers for civic participation.
Campaigns spend hundreds of millions of dollars each cycle to move turnout by a point or two. Leadership Now members Tom Florsheim Jr. and Adam Goodman point to a far more powerful influence hiding in plain sight: the workplace. New research shows employers shape whether their people vote, and the CEOs argue that a few low-cost, nonpartisan practices can put that influence to work.
Read the Op-Ed in FortuneAuthors
- Tom Florsheim Jr. (WI), Chairman and CEO, Weyco Group
- Adam Goodman (AZ), President and CEO, Goodmans Interior Structures
Key Takeaways
The workplace is a decisive factor. Researchers at Michigan, Harvard, Columbia, and Maryland linked employment records for 30 million workers to voter files. Workers who moved from a lower-scoring employer to a higher-scoring one became measurably more likely to vote, and the effect held across party lines.
Turnout is a management problem. Most companies have no idea where they fall on this spectrum. The authors argue leaders should find out and work to improve.
No political position required. Helping employees participate never involves asking about candidates or preferences, and it keeps companies out of the news cycle.
The effects compound. Voting is habit-forming. Employees keep voting after they move on, their households vote more too, and the impact is largest in primaries.
“Driving voter turnout is a management problem with an easy solution.”
Tom Florsheim Jr., Chairman and CEO, Weyco Group, and Adam Goodman, President and CEO, Goodmans Interior StructuresWhat Employers Can Do
Set a simple communications calendar. Encourage employees to make a plan to vote, flag when early voting opens, and send reminders the week before and on Election Day.
Give people time. Offer paid leave to vote or serve as a poll worker.
Recruit poll workers. Partner with programs like Power the Polls so employees can help keep lines short and elections running smoothly.
Start with a template. Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy publishes a toolkit with a communications timeline and templates any company can adapt.
Leadership Now is a membership organization of business leaders who believe that a strong democracy is key to a thriving economy and political stability.
