Two years ago, the Sacramento Kings launched “Rally the Vote” as a way to encourage fans to register to vote. The initiative involved nine professional sports teams across the country.

Now, the Kings are taking this cause one step further. They have already made Election Day a company holiday and will be setting up the Golden 1 Center as a polling place and vote center leading up to Nov. 3. The organization is also expanding “Rally the Vote” to include 20 professional sports teams across six leagues.

The Kings launched Rally the Vote in 2018 before the midterm elections with 9 teams, now we’ve more than doubled the effort to 20 ahead of the Nov. 3 election. This is too important! Get in the game here https://t.co/37xgilH4oB

— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) August 12, 2020

As team governor Vivek Ranadivé said in the press release, voting is the easiest way for people to participate as citizens, and the purpose of “Rally the Vote” is to encourage civic engagement in a nonpartisan fashion.

The Kings will also be partnering with When We All Vote, who will be creating customized voter registration portals, and RISE, which will offer voter registration workshops.

The franchise has been justifiably pilloried for the moves it has made in the basketball sphere of late, and the dismal showing the Kings put on in Orlando. However, Ranadivé’s commitment to being a force for good in the city of Sacramento has been far more successful, considering the organization’s charitable contributions during the pandemic, its work to promote social justice, and these latest efforts to improve voter turnout. Credit to the Kings for continuing to use their platform to create meaningful change.