Nordstrom launches voter participation initiative

Nordstrom has launched ‘Make Your Voice Heard’, a nationwide non-partisan voter participation initiative.

The goals of this initiative are to educate, inspire and make it easy for Nordstrom employees and customers to have a voice, through responding to the 2020 Census and voting in elections.

The fashion retailer is in partnership with nonprofits, When We All Vote and the National Urban League.

"We believe every voice matters and our country is stronger when we all participate in the democratic process," said Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer, in a statement: “This initiative is a direct result of feedback we heard from more than 50,000 Nordstrom employees from all regions of the U.S.

“They told us they want to be actively engaged in their communities and help find solutions to the challenges we're facing. Enabling them to make their voices heard by voting is a meaningful and productive way we can support our people and our communities."

The partnerships will deliver the campaign through digital volunteer opportunities, voter registration, online resources and virtual learning series.

Stephanie L. Young, chief officer for culture and communications of When We All Vote, said: “With this partnership, we will be able to reach new eligible voters via the entire Nordstrom community of employees and customers, helping us to fulfill our mission to increase voter participation in every election."

To encourage voting, Nordstrom is making November 3, 2020, a holiday for all of its US employees, and will help its employees to enable them to get to the voting polls.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of National Urban League, said: “We will support Make Your Voice Heard through initiatives aimed at increased voter registration, 2020 Census participation, diverse corporate recruitment, community-based volunteerism, and much more. We are committed to making a difference and cannot wait to get started with Make Your Voice Heard.”

Other retailers such as Banana Republic and H&M have also took part in creating campaigns and initiatives to encourage voting.

Photo credit: Nordstrom press room