RELEASE: Blackhawks Join 'Rally the Vote' as Coalition's First NHL Team

The Chicago Blackhawks today announced the organization has joined "Rally the Vote," a nonpartisan coalition made up of professional sports franchises focused on encouraging fans to get in the game and make their voice heard by registering to vote and participating in elections. With the Blackhawks as the effort's first-ever participating NHL team, Rally the Vote is now made up of more than 20 teams across the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, WNBA and NWSL.

Rally the Vote has been designed to leverage team digital platforms to directly reach tens of millions of fans nationwide to promote civic participation, with the goal of increasing the amount of new registrations and ensuring all of those who register to vote cast a ballot in November. The Blackhawks will support this effort through a custom online portal to help register fans to vote at
Blackhawks.com/Vote
, social media support around key dates and more. Internally, the Blackhawks will offer a voter education session to front office staff as well as designate Election Day on November 3 as a company holiday to encourage employees to take the necessary time to vote and/or volunteer as a poll worker.
"The Blackhawks truly believe that when we act as One Community, we can build the communities and neighborhoods in which we want to live, work and play. That begins with individuals exercising their right to vote for leaders who share their values at every level of government," said Danny Wirtz, Interim President of the Chicago Blackhawks. "Our organization is committed to using our vast platform to raise awareness about voter participation and ensure fans and the broader Chicago community know about important local deadlines."
Earlier this month, the NBA's Sacramento Kings, in collaboration with When We All Vote and RISE,
relaunched
Rally the Vote with 20 professional sports franchises, more than doubling the number of teams participating in the effort from its launch in 2018, with continued plans for expansion ahead of Election Day.
When We All Vote
and
RISE
, two national nonpartisan nonprofits focused year-round on raising public awareness around the importance of voting, will be providing additional resources to support the teams and the coalition such as an online tool to register, request a mail-in ballot and more along with voter registration curriculum for teams and community partners.
"We're thrilled to have the Chicago Blackhawks join Rally the Vote, extending this effort to the NHL and encouraging civic engagement amongst their fans," said Sacramento Kings Chief Operating Officer Matina Kolokotronis. "Together, we are leveraging our platforms to make certain important information is disseminated and everyone gets in the game to make their voice heard."
To register to vote visit
Blackhawks.com/Vote
, or for more information visit
rallythevote.org
.

UNITED CENTER JOINT VENTURE UPDATE

The United Center, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks are committed to using our platforms to support our Chicago community. As part of that commitment, we are working with city officials to explore the possibility of using the United Center as a polling location for the upcoming general election. We will share updates as plans for the facility's specific role come together.