The Capital One Arena will serve as a polling station for early and day-of voting in the upcoming presidential election, according to a DCist/WAMU report attributed to DC officials.
The place will be joining a number of NBA arenas that will be used to accommodate large numbers of voters while giving them space for proper social distancing on Election Day, scheduled for November 3, 2020.
The idea was first brought up by Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE), which owns and operates the Capital One Arena, last month, as part of its campaign to encourage people to vote in November’s election.
“Given the footprint of the arena and the requisite social distancing protocols in place because of COVID-19, MSE is in discussions with the DC Board of Elections and the Executive Office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser regarding the possibility of using the arena as a polling location for the November 2020 election,” MSE said in a statement on July 22.
“A separate announcement will be made as further details become available, if the parties determine that the arena is an appropriate polling location, and if all applicable logistics are worked through,” the company had noted.
MSE also announced that it would offer its staff a paid day off on Election Day and give its employees time to receive training to serve as election workers in the DMV area.
There will be 20 early voting sites that are expected to open for a two-week period ahead of the election and 80 polling locations that will open on Election Day.