ACLU Equips 100-Plus Companies With Voter Rights Playbooks

The ACLU is equipping more than 100 businesses with nonpartisan, actionable voting information this election cycle, aiming to boost voter confidence and participation among their employees and customers. The effort includes "Know Your Voting Rights" trainings now reaching tens of thousands of workers across the country.

Days before the election, nearly 100 Patagonia employees and grantees joined a virtual training with the ACLU. Attendees learned how to arrive at the polls without impediment, cast ballots free from intimidation, and trust their votes will be counted as cast. They also received instructions on helping others do the same.

Why are companies stepping in?

This cycle has carried misinformation, attacks on voting procedures, and threats that could keep voters away. The ACLU argues corporations can cut through the noise with credible resources: how to check registration status, whether ID is required, whether early voting is available, and what rights voters hold at the polls.

The business case has numbers behind it. According to a 2024 report, 82% of U.S. adults say companies should give workers time off to vote, and 69% say companies should encourage voting. A Harvard case study found voter engagement programs are well received by customers and employees and raise brand awareness among new audiences. Research cited by Red Branch Media links voting time off to improved employee retention.

Trust data reinforces the opening. This year's Edelman Trust Barometer found "my employer" is trusted by 78% of respondents and "business" by 64%—ahead of NGOs at 58%, media at 54%, and government at 53%.

What are brands actually doing?

Patagonia distributes "Know Your Rights" stickers to employees and customers across its retail locations, headquarters, and warehouses. Hachette Book Group and Dr. Bronner's provide in-kind contributions for the ACLU's Party at the Polls events, local activities designed to make voting festive.

The campaigns run from simple to elaborate:

• Spencer's offers "make a plan to vote" bingo cards at registers in its 600-plus stores.
• Aspen One's six Limelight Hotels place ACLU voting-plan resources in guest rooms.
• Ben & Jerry's launched the flavor Razz Up to support ACLU voter participation and handed out free ice cream alongside ACLU resources to 17,000 people across Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. Its digital campaign has generated millions of views.
• Obey Giant, the business of artist Shepard Fairey, teamed with Tom Petty's estate on a poster featuring "I Won't Back Down." Proceeds benefit the ACLU, and TomPetty.com promotes the organization's voter resources.
• Lush runs family-friendly bath-bomb-making sessions celebrating early voting, shares ACLU resources in more than 200 stores, and reaches its 2 million subscribers.

Earlier this month, Detroit broke its record for early voting at a single location—a result driven by a Party at the Polls event and participating brands, the ACLU said.

Some companies run their own programs. Levi Strauss & Co. supports civic engagement among community college students. Lyft discounts rides to the polls. Disney has aired public-service-style announcements encouraging participation across its networks.

Does corporate involvement move voters?

The evidence says yes. A study of the "Time to Vote" initiative—now run by the Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition with thousands of members—found employees of participating companies are twice as likely to vote.

The ACLU also sees a role beyond November. Vote counting will likely extend past election night, the organization notes, and companies can reassure the public that extended counting is a normal part of the process. The ACLU and allied organizations are preparing businesses for a potential election emergency, when corporate voices would need to engage both policymakers and the public to reinforce facts about election processes.

The underlying logic is blunt: a stable economy depends on a stable democracy, and companies that invest in voter confidence are hedging both.