Since we started Mostly Serious in 2010, we have made it a priority to ensure our team is able to take time away from work to improve our community. When solidifying our company’s core values in 2016, Community was a unanimous selection from everyone at Mostly Serious. It’s core to who we are, what we do, and what we strive to become. Community is also the reason we have decided to make Election Day a holiday starting in 2020.
To us, participation in local, state, and national elections is an important part of improving our communities. We have always ensured our team is able to take time away to vote, as no one should have to decide between their paycheck and their ability to cast their vote.
35% of eligible voters are unable to vote due to their work or school schedules.
However, we now believe it’s time to push this policy one step further. We don’t want our team to be forced to work around impromptu meetings or squeezing voting between picking up the kids and making dinner. We want our team, if they choose, to donate their time as poll workers.* And, most of all, we want to remove every possible barrier to our team participating in our democracy.
*And if you want to sign up to be a poll worker, it's easy—just search your state's official government website. If you're a Missourian, you can sign up here.
To commemorate this decision, we have joined Time to Vote, a nonpartisan movement led by our nation's business community to contribute to the culture shift needed to increase voter participation in our country’s elections. As of September, Time to Vote has 800+ companies participating, including Patagonia, Twitter, and Walmart. Time to Vote is devoutly non-partisan with a simple aim to increase voter turnout and representation.
In 2016, after learning that 35% of eligible voters are unable to vote due to their work or school schedules, Patagonia gave all its employees the day off to vote in the presidential elections. In 2018, Patagonia formalized the push for the midterms by rallying 411 additional companies to join the movement for their two million employees. The result was the highest turnout for the U.S. midterm in four decades, with 53% of voting-age citizens participating.
We are proud to play our part in raising awareness and protecting our team’s right to vote. We hope you’ll join us.