Twitter, BET, MTV and More Brands Join Nationwide Push For 'Vote Early Day'

Voting in the 2020 Election just got a lot more convenient.

One of the biggest concerns with voter turnout is the inconvenience it causes voters, whether it involves conflicts with jobs or the commute to local polling places. To increase voter turnout this year, major brands like Twitter, BET, MTV, and more are backing what they hope will become a new national holiday: Vote Early Day.

Similar to Voter Registration Day, the motivation behind this initiative is to encourage Americans to not only exercise their right to vote but to vote early. Major brands are supporting this new push to target young voters and ensure they’re properly educated on their respective state’s laws around early voting. The planned date for Vote Early Day is Oct. 24, giving voters more than a week before the general election on Nov. 3.

A recent press release stated that celebrating Vote Early Day “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.”

According to USA Today, Chris McCarthy, president of ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth Brands, said MTV joined this initiative because “young voters have often been ignored by politicians.” They created a steering committee that took the lead by bringing on several major players to join in, including Secretaries of State, Snap Inc., PayPal, and 65 other brands and nonprofits. Together, they are all helping to create a new way for Americans to celebrate their constitutional right to vote.

“Now more than ever, the country’s paying attention to elections and the importance of participating in our democracy. How we live our lives today is very different than it was 50 years ago, and how people have the opportunity to vote needs to be modernized. Offering early voting opportunities is a big piece of that,” Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, told MTV News.

It’s crucial that young voters and Black voters take advantage of this opportunity to vote early, especially since the Black vote has the power to change the turnout of this election entirely. Black voter turnout slumped for the first time in two decades during the 2016 election, but this year we can turn that around. Black voters helped elect our first Black president and could be the reason we make history yet again.

Vote Early Day is a great way to ensure your vote counts whether you want to cast an absentee ballot or show up to the polls early. Be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 24 and Tuesday, Nov. 3.

To find out more about Vote Early Day, visit voteearlyday.org.