Following a commitment by all Pac-12 athletics departments to facilitate registration and acquisition of mail-in ballots for all willing and eligible student-athletes prior to National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 22, the Pac-12 continues to focus efforts on educating and providing informations to student-athletes on the importance of voting. For National Voter Education Week, Oct. 5-9, the Conference is celebrating the many voter-education initiatives and efforts of each athletics department. These efforts continue steps that the Pac-12 is taking to combat racism and promote social justice.  

 

Also as part of National Voter Education Week, the Pac-12 is working with ALL IN To Vote and Rock the Vote to provide a pair of educational webinars for Pac-12 student-athletes, helping to provide additional information and resources related to the importance of voting as well as an education and history of voter rights in the United States. Each athletics department throughout the Conference is also working to collectively reach 100% voter registration and participation among eligible student-athletes.

 

 

Related to these efforts, and in conjunction with the Pac-12's social justice & anti-racism efforts, the Conference is hosting a virtual webinar series, "Amplifying Voices for Change," on Oct. 29 which will feature several panels including "Get Out the Vote: Use Your Voice to Drive Social Justice and Anti-Racism Progress." The virtual webinar series is free to attend with more registration and more information available here. 

 

 

Across the Conference, several universities are set to host ballot drop-off locations and/or serve as polling locations for the Nov. 3 election. In addition, the NCAA has also confirmed that Nov. 3 across collegiate athletics will be a day-off from practices and athletics participation for student-athletes, coaches and staff, to allow for and encourage voter participation. Each university in the Pac-12 has also selected one student-athlete to lead and serve as liaison with the Conference and each institution in order to share ideas and best practices and to promote voter participation. Across Pac-12 Networks, all seven TV channels as well as digital platforms have been amplifying voter-education messages via non-partisan public-service announcements. 

 

As the Nov. 3 election nears, the Pac-12 will continue to highlight voter participation across its platforms as student-athletes "Pac The Polls." More information related to voter registration and participation is available at vote.org.