Purchasing Power, LLC, an Atlanta-based voluntary benefit company offering the leading employee purchasing program through the convenience of payroll deductions, is giving its 250+ employees an extra full day of paid time off on or before Nov. 3 to participate as non-partisan volunteers in the upcoming 2020 general election. In addition to serving as poll workers, suggested volunteer activities include helping seniors and students request absentee ballots, encouraging early voting among personal social networks, and helping citizens register to vote by the Oct. 5 deadline in Georgia.
“We’re committed to ensuring that not only our employees have the time and opportunity to vote, but also supporting our fellow citizens in our Atlanta community to do the same,” said Trey Loughran, Purchasing Power CEO. “Giving our employees time to serve as poll workers, drivers or other non-partisan volunteer efforts to facilitate voting is a small but important step in ensuring all voices are heard in this election.”
The expansion of paid time off is in addition to the company’s previously announced half-day off and a “no meetings on Election Day” commitment presented to employees to remove any timing or financial obstacles to exercising their own right to vote this November. In early August, Purchasing Power joined the Time To Vote national coalition of U.S. companies pledging to accommodate and help enable workers to vote without having to sacrifice a day’s pay.
Purchasing Power also is supporting the website www.rockthevote.org for employees to successfully register as first-time voters in person or by mail, and to report a change of name and/or address with the registration office. Additionally, the Georgia Secretary of State’s sponsored website www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do offers voter registration status, sample ballots, mail-in ballot applications, poll locations, and early voting locations.
"We are pleased to see how Georgia businesses are supporting their workers with paid time off and further resources to ensure they are able to exercise their right to vote,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “I hope more companies will join the effort as Purchasing Power is doing in the Metro Atlanta community.”
Time To Vote is a nonpartisan, business-led initiative to help ensure employees across America are able to exercise their right to vote. By joining Time To Vote, CEOs and business owners commit to making accommodations for workers that help enable them to vote, such as paid time off on Election Day, making Election Day a day without meetings or providing resources for mail-in ballots and early voting. There is no cost for companies to join. Businesses interested in Time To Vote can visit www.maketimetovote.org.