JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you’ve been to a Jacksonville Jaguars game or watched one on TV, you’ve seen and heard the fans get excited when the team scores. But there’s also a push to see fans get excited about casting their ballot on Election Day.
That’s why the team has launched the “Duuuuuval Votes” campaign. T-Neisha Tate is the team’s Vice President of Social Responsibility and she’s spearheading this campaign.
“It’s a civic issue. We as residents of this city and this country, just owe it to ourselves to make sure our voices are being heard,” Tate said. “And how we do that is making sure we’re at the polls by November 5th.”
Though politics can feel very polarizing at times, Tate says this initiative is 100% nonpartisan. According to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office, Duval County has over 641,000 registered voters. Tate says the goal is to inspire people to vote and make sure they’re ready to do so. That includes the players themselves, many of whom are not from Duval County.
“We’ve worked very closely with our coaching staff and front office staff to make sure we’re supporting them in helping them request their absentee ballots,” Tate said. “That’s just really a part of our game plan.”
That game plan includes drafting a team of your own by getting your family and friends engaged in voting. Also, study the playbook: look at your sample ballots and know what you’ll be voting on.
“Make sure that if it’s an absentee ballot, that you’re requesting that early,” Tate said. “If you’re going to be participating in early voting, draft those same friends and family members and make sure that you’re voting.”
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland is anticipating a nearly 80% voter turnout for the November election. He says the Jags have played a big role in getting the word out.
“We have staff that will go down prior to the game, set up a voter registration booth, update anything they need to,” Holland said. “Addresses, or to take on new registrations and we’ve been doing that prior to every home game. And it’s been very successful.”
Another person pushing for voter education is former Congresswoman Corrine Brown and other local leaders.
The group gathered for a news conference Thursday in front of the Supervisor of Elections Office. Their press conference was in response to a report earlier this week showing Duval County had over 90,000 inactive voters. Jerry Holland explained voters become inactive when they move to a new home and fail to update their address. Holland said the numbers have since changed and have now dropped below 90,000.
People are urged to check their voter status. If it comes back showing they’re an inactive voter, they need to update their address with the Supervisor of Elections Office. They can also go to any early voting site, update their address there, and cast their ballot during the same visit. Brown stressed the importance of taking this route.
“It is so crucial and that is why early voting is so important,” Brown said. “Because, if you go there and you have a problem, you can correct it. I encourage people to please vote early.”
People can check their voter status by going to Home (duvalelections.com). To learn more about the Jaguars initiative, visit Jacksonville Jaguars Civic Engagement: Register to Vote & Stay Informed.