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Ashley Spillane

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    Elections

    Democracy has no off-years

    Ashley Spillane
    March 28, 2023
    Democracy has no off-years

    Clark County Election Department poll workers check people in at a table as people vote at the Meadows Mall on November 08, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

    Spillane serves as Senior Advisor to Power the Polls and Director of the Civic Responsibility Project.

    As our country celebrates Women’s History Month and looks ahead to local elections this fall, it’s important for us to celebrate the everyday heroines in communities across the country who are the essential workers of our democracy: poll workers.

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    Voting

    Why corporate civic engagement is good for democracy

    Ashley Spillane
    November 04, 2019
    Why corporate civic engagement is good for democracy

    "We must do the work to increase the number of people voting in our elections to strengthen our democracy and ensure it is representative of the American population," argues Ashley Spillane.

    Chris Hondros/Getty Images

    Spillane is a social impact strategist and the former head of Rock the Vote, the nonprofit group that seeks to boost the political involvement of young people.

    We're a year out from the 2020 election and, as you've probably noticed, Americans are energized. Elections are becoming an increasingly pronounced part of American culture, with the presidential race becoming a part of daily conversation. Yet, despite voter turnout hitting a 100-year-midterm election high in 2018, just half of eligible voters showed up to cast a ballot last year.

    Turnout in presidential years isn't much better: Less than 60 percent of the eligible voting population cast a ballot in the highly contested 2016 presidential race, placing the United States 26th out of 32 developed democracies in terms of citizen participation.

    We must do the work to increase the number of people voting in our elections to strengthen our democracy and ensure it is representative of the American population.

    The good news is that companies are well-positioned to help get more people excited to head to the voting booth — and many already are. An unprecedented number of brands promoted the 2018 election, sharing information about voter registration, early voting and Election Day. More than 400 companies signed a pledge to give employees information about early voting or time off to vote.

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