LeBron James is continuing to make voting accessible to all for the upcoming November election. On Thursday (Aug. 13), the Los Angeles Lakers star announced that his More Than A Vote organization would partner with the Los Angeles Dodgers to turn Dodger Stadium into a polling site this fall.
“I may still be new to L.A. but didn’t take long for me to learn how special the relationship is between the Dodgers and Lakers. We are all in this together,” James said a press release.
The initiative will be the first time a Major League Baseball team has offered up its facility to be used as a public voting center. During the past few months, Dodgers Stadium has also been used as a site for COVID-19 testing and food distribution.
“I’m really proud we were able to help the Dodgers become the first MLB stadium to open for voting,” James continued. “This is exactly why we created More Than A Vote. A lot of us now working together and here for every team who wants to follow the Dodgers’ lead and turn their stadium into a safer place for voting.”
James launched More Than A Vote this past June to combat voter suppression. The group, which also includes Trae Young, Jalen Rose and Skylar Diggins-Smith, previously raised over $100,000 to pay off former felons’ court fees so that they’ll be able to vote in the upcoming election.
“Dodger Stadium is part of the fabric of Los Angeles and we’re proud to continue to partner with the County to make the property available for the benefit of the community at large,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten added in the release. “Voting is all of our civic duty and we’re excited to work with More Than a Vote to do anything we can to help get out the vote by making this process as easy, accessible and safe for all Angelenos.”
ESPN reports that any registered voter in Los Angeles County will be able to park at the stadium for free and vote in the five days leading up to the election on Nov. 3. It’s unknown whether voters will assemble indoors or outside the stadium, but the site organizers reportedly plan to abide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines.