Starbucks unveils plan to support partner and customer voter engagement

Café-chain Starbucks is taking a step to promote equality, justice and community resiliency.

In a letter to its partners, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson unveiled its plan to support partners in their journey to register to vote and ensure their voices are heard.

Johnson noted that no partner (employee) will have to choose between working their shift and voting on or before Election Day. 

The first step in this plan begins with conversations between managers and partners to help ensure nearly 200,000 Starbucks partners have the tools and the time necessary to register and cast their vote. Key initiatives supplementing these conversations include:

• Support Making Voting Safe and Accessible: Through a partnership with Civic Alliance, partners can volunteer with their local election authority as (non-partisan) poll workers.
• Advocating for Policies that Maintain Safe Access to Voting for All: Starbucks continues to advocate, at all levels of government, that Americans have safe, accessible ways to vote. This includes making necessary adjustments to ensure polling places and ballot drop boxes are safe and accessible for all and polling places are appropriately staffed.
• Providing Resources to Customers: In September, through the Starbucks App, Starbucks will provide resources and information on how and where customers can to register to vote.

“We applaud Starbucks for its commitment to democracy. No one should be forced to choose between sacrificing a paycheck and exercising their constitutional right to vote, but that is a reality for far too many. Our democracy works best when everyone participates. By arming employees with options for how to cast their vote, providing nonpartisan volunteer opportunities at select polling sites, advocating for robust policies for safe in-person voting, and aiding customers in registering to vote, Starbucks is doing its part to remove barriers to the ballot box and ensure all voices are heard in this election. We hope more employers will follow Starbucks’ example,” added Vanita Gupta, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.