As a company that fosters local connections at a national scale, we are firm believers that an engaged community is a healthy community.
A healthy community is one where everyone is treated like a neighbor and welcomed for their differences. We believe we all have a part to play to ensure our communities are happy, healthy, and engaged. One of the best things you can do for your community is to be an active voter, ready to represent your perspective at the polls for local and federal elections.
To support our communities, we’ve joined the Civic Alliance, in partnership with I Am A Voter, and we’re dedicating space within the OfferUp experience to help everyone do their part, engage with their community, and VOTE. We are working to support Civic Alliance’s goal to achieve 80% nationwide voter participation by 2028. Read more about the Civic Alliance here.
We believe that real change starts at home, which means that we are also doing a number of things to make sure that we support our employees with additional time, resources, and knowledge about key upcoming dates and deadlines for local and federal elections, so they have the resources and support they need to join the cause and be more active and informed voters:
Election Day (11/3) is a no meeting day at OfferUp, so employees can dedicate time to engage with the voting process.
We have dedicated space in our intranet tracking upcoming key dates and information about the election and census. We have also provided resources for employees who want to get further involved in their local, state, or national election process.
Our CEO, Nick Huzar, will host a company-wide #ListeningHour on election day, so employees can come together to talk about what this election means for them in a safe and supportive space.
Many Americans mistakenly think that one vote can’t possibly have any impact. But it does. The people we vote into office, at the local, state, and national level, make the decisions that control almost every aspect of our daily lives.
The U.S. ranked 26th out of 32 developed countries for its percentage of eligible voters who actually turned out to vote (Source: I am a voter)
The voter turnout for the 2016 U.S. presidential election was only 61% (Source: I am a voter)
There have been more than a dozen races decided by a single vote or ending in a tie over the last 20 years (Source: I am a voter)
Voting isn’t an abstract concept, or for someone else to do. It’s for all of us and the things we care about. If you personally care about housing, income/support, healthcare, jobs, children, schools, and neighborhoods — then by voting, you can have a say in how these things are managed and decided.
For more information on the importance of voting and civic engagement, visit I am a voter on social media or their website.