PRESS RELEASE: Politisit Helping Parents Get to the Polls by Providing Childcare to Voters

Politisit, a nonpartisan nonprofit, is teaming up with childcare facilities in Florida and Texas to ensure parents are able to vote in the 2020 Election.  Making sure every eligible voter can vote is the bedrock of democracy.  The cost of childcare can be a barrier to parents voting, though, especially when a long line is expected. Certified childcare facilities are setting up childcare with Politisit’s help so parents don’t have to pick between safe care for their children and standing in line to cast their ballots.

Politisit is working with facilities that are providing childcare in Texas and Florida:
1. Ft. Worth and Arlington, Texas: the Center for Transforming Lives will have childcare facilities open to voters in both cities. Early voting and Election Day.
2. Dallas, Texas: the  YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas will provide childcare to voters at 4 locations, some of which are polling stations, too. Early voting and Election Day.
3. Joshua, Texas:  the Joshua Community YMCA will provide childcare to voters at their location on Election Day.
4. Miami, Florida: the YWCA of South Florida will provide childcare to voters at 2 locations.  Early voting and Election Day.

Many eligible voters with young children must find reliable and affordable child care before going to the polls, which comes at a cost.  This can be especially problematic and expensive if lines require a 2+ hour wait.  Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda of the University of Houston, who conducts research on voter participation, says that people often tell him they cannot access the ballot box due to lack of resources, such as child care.  With COVID-19 having an impact on schools and childcare being open, this is a larger problem than the average election year.  

Low-income Americans and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by this.  A 2014 Pew study showed that almost half of those who didn’t vote have family incomes under $30K, and the poverty line for a family of 5 is $30K.  Also, 43% of those who don’t cast a ballot are Hispanic, African-American or other racial and ethnic minorities.  These statistics were consistent with 2010 and 2012 studies.  Pew also found in 2016 that 14% of registered voters cited being “Too busy or conflicting schedule” as their reason for not voting in the 2016 elections, while 2% cited “Inconvenient hours or polling place.”  In fact, the wait to vote in 2012 is estimated to have cost Americans $544 million in lost productivity and wages.  With burdens such as these falling disproportionately on communities of color and low-income Americans, voter turnout statistics are unsurprising. 

Politisit’s initiative to ensure the cost of childcare isn’t a barrier to voting will have an impact specifically on the communities where we are partnering with childcare facilities. Dallas and Ft. Worth both saw long lines on the first day of early voting. Florida is also experience long lines at the polls.   Census data indicates these cities have a higher poverty rate and larger racial minority population than the United States as a whole.

Politisit is a non-partisan non-profit founded by Rachel Sowray after seeing the long lines to vote in the 2016 election.  She hopes that this initiative will enfranchise parents in Florida and Texas this year, and the program will reach even more states in future elections.

More information is available at www.Politisit.org/Voting or by emailing Info@Politisit.org.