NBA arenas will be closed on Election Day this year.
The NBA announced Tuesday that it will not schedule any games on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to avoid conflicting with the midterm elections. The move is another in a series of decisions from the league to increase voter turnout.
Election Day will now join Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve as the few days of the season with no games played.
To make up the games, the NBA will instead have all 30 teams play on Nov. 7, the night before Election Day. Teams are also being encouraged to share election information with their fans leading up to the midterms.
“The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family’s focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections,” the league said Tuesday.
NBC first reported the league’s scheduling plan.
“It’s unusual. We don’t usually change the schedule for an external event,” James Cadogan, the executive director of the NBA’s social justice coalition, told NBC. “But voting and Election Day are obviously unique and incredibly important to our democracy.”
The NBA’s full schedule will be released Wednesday.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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