The Drive to Drive Voters
Volunteer take people to the polls
By Bruce Watson
Since 2016, when low turnout helped elect Donald Trump, driving voters to the polls has grown from a hope into a service and this year, into a crusade. For volunteers wondering what to do on Tuesday, driving is a stellar way to make a difference.
This November 5, several non-profit groups will offer free rides to the polls, linking a database of drivers with anyone who needs a ride to cast a vote.
Beyond non-profits, the drive to the polls is supported by the NAACP, the National Council on Aging, and the Harris-Walz campaign, which is backing a “Souls 2 the Polls” campaign to drive black church members to voting booths.
According to a 2021 Harvard study, transportation is a major obstacle to millions of potential voters. In 2020, two-thirds of voters with cars voted, almost twice the rate of voters who did not own cars. Because car ownership favors white upper-class and suburban voters over lower income people of color, the transportation gap is a big problem for Democrats.
“There are many reasons Democrats do not vote in the same numbers as the GOP,” explained Rideshare2vote. “One is transportation insecurity, one is voter suppression, and one is simply that no one invites them.”
Rideshare2vote, which started in the wake of the 2016 election nightmare, now links volunteer drivers with ride needy voters in a dozen states. On Election Day, some 4,000 volunteer drivers will await ride requests booked on rideshare2vote.com. Along with voters who don’t own cars, riders will include those recovering from surgery, having a physical disability, or just living too far from a poll to walk or take a quick bus.
Other organizations offering rides include carpoolvote.com, which operates in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and driveyourballot.com working solely out of Philadelphia, PA and across Georgia. Voter Drive Cleveland, plus similar organizations in other cities, also match carless voters with drivers. The voting parade will be joined by community groups — churches, colleges, and chapters of the League of Women Voters — arranging their own rides. But back to Georgia.
In 2022, Georgia led the nation in voters getting rides to the polls. Most of those rides, however, came not from volunteers but from the other big players in Election Day rides — Uber and Lyft.
Again this Election Day, both major rideshare services will offer discount rides to the polls. On November 5, Uber and Lyft apps will be tailored towards this election service, with easily booked requests for voting rides and discount rates up to fifty percent. Lyft’s “Lyft Up Voting Action Program” has also partnered with the National Council on Aging and the NAACP.
“For many Americans, especially Black Americans, accessible and affordable transportation continues to impede access to the ballot box,” said NAACP chair Derrick Johnson. Partnering with Lyft, Johnson said, will “make sure every vote is counted and every voice is heard."
So drivers, start your engines. Driving voters to the polls is the most face-to-face way of getting out the vote, ride by ride by ride.