Warriors Announce Use of Facilities as Voting Centers for 2020 Election

As part of the NBA's ongoing efforts to provide voting sites in markets with teams, the Golden State Warriors have announced an initiative to support participation in the 2020 election.

Per an official statement released Friday, the Warriors will set up their facilities in Oakland and Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, home of their G League affiliate, as voting centers for the Nov. 3 election. The area outside the Chase Center in San Francisco will also serve as a ballot drop off location from Oct. 31-Nov. 3.

"With our facilities in Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz all being utilized to support the 2020 Election process, this ranks as our most critical three-pointer of the year," Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts said. "For our democracy to work, we all need to exercise our right to vote, and activating all three of these locations will help expand that opportunity for many Bay Area residents."

The facility in Oakland will function as a training location for poll workers, as well as a polling site and drop-off location for ballots on Election Day. 

When players refused to play games last week as part of a protest in the wake of Jacob Blake being shot seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to various social justice policies that allowed the season to resume. 

Among the items agreed to include the formation of a social justice coalition involving players, coaches and team governors, and governors agreed to work with local officials in their team's cities to use team facilities, including arenas, as voting centers and ballot drop-off locations to help increase the number of available voting sites to allow for safe voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Warriors release also noted that the organization will be encouraging employees to vote and volunteer on Election Day, participating in phone banking to turn out voters and providing team members with opportunities to train to be poll workers. Some players and coaches will also be assisting with ballot dropoff outside the Chase Center. 

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and several players, including Stephen Curry, have been active in social issues throughout their careers. Members of the organization were in Oakland in June for a "Walking in Unity" protest after George Floyd was killed by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.