Over 1000 Polling Locations Have Closed Since 2012. So We're Doing Something About It

The clock is ticking down to the presidential election on November 3, 2020 — do you suggest who you’re tapping as your +1 to your local polling place? Another, similarly question: do you suggest where your polling place is?


there's a good chance, you do: According to a recent poll conducted by YouGov and MTV News, 80 percent of Gen Z respondents and 91 percent of millennial respondents mentioned it was relatively easy to find their polling place in a recent election. They also mentioned it wasn’t challenging to find time to vote, and only 8 percent of Gen Zers and 10 percent of millennials mentioned they have skipped voting in a primary or general election for which they were eligible to cast their ballot. All of this is super encouraging; immediately considering that, those two generations comprise the largest bloc of eligible voters. And if every young person who can vote shows up to the polls later this year, they’ll have the ability to influence history. That is, if their polling locations are still around.


Polling places across the nation are disappearing. A September 2019 study by the Leadership Conference Education Fund noticed that hundreds of locations nationwide had closed since 2012. Such closures have an outsized impact on people of color and other marginalized folks, several of whom struggle with getting the time off from their jobs, accessing genuine ID, and even catching a ride to their polling location. Although it shouldn’t be work to create your voice heard.


Enter +1 The Polls, a joint effort between MTV and the Campus Vote Project, the Alliance for Youth Organizing, and the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition that is working to set up new polling sites on college campuses and in local communities. We’ve locked in four new locations: Look for us at the College of Canyons in Santa Clarita, California; East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina; and Texas A&M University and Texas State University in Galveston and San Marcos, Texas. We’re also issuing toolkits and plenty of info so, by the time November rolls around, you and your +1 have your vote on lock.


hope to get involved? Head to polls.Plus1thevote.Com for more info —  and mark your calendars: Election Day is 257 days away.


Over 4 million people will turn 18 between right now and the 2020 election. MTV's +1thevote is encouraging all potential first-time voters to register and vote this November. It is almost time to create voting easier to do, and piece of the milestones already happening in your life, from prom to graduation to birthdays. It's a year-long party and +1thevote is inviting you to support us shape the future. Who's your +1?