The NBA on Tuesday announced that it will not hold any games on Nov. 8, as the league opted to instead take Election Day off to encourage fans to vote and to promote nonpartisan civic engagement.
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NBA avoids scheduling regular-season games on Election Day
The league's schedule for the coming season will have all 30 teams playing on Nov. 7, the night before the midterm elections. The NBA is hoping teams use that night as an opportunity to encourage fans to get out and vote, plus amplify the need for civic engagement.
But on Nov. 8, which is Election Day, no NBA teams have games scheduled. Teams are being encouraged to share election information -- such as registration deadlines -- with their fan bases in the weeks leading up to Nov. 8.
A Pause To Vote
The NBA will not schedule any games for Election Day 2022 (Nov. 8). Here is how the NBA's schedule has look on Election Day since 2008:
DATE GAMES HELD
Nov. 8, 2022 None
Nov. 3, 2020 None (COVID)
Nov. 6, 2018 4 games
Nov. 8, 2016 6 games
Nov. 4, 2014 8 games
Nov. 6, 2012 3 games
Nov. 2, 2010 6 games*
Nov. 4, 2008 3 games
** A 7th game in 2010 was postponed
"The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family's focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections," the league said Tuesday.
All 435 U.S. House seats will be up for grabs on Nov. 8, along with more than 30 U.S. Senate seats and gubernatorial races.
The move is a rarity for the league, which typically plays no games on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and tries to avoid scheduling games on the day of the NCAA men's basketball championship game -- often the first Monday of April. It also has a few days off built around the All-Star Game, which takes place in February.
The NBA and its players were openly involved in several election-related pushes in 2020, largely as part of the response after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor reignited the quest to eliminate racial inequality and police brutality.
Many players, including LeBron James, were involved in voting registration drives and other get-out-the-vote initiatives. Some teams turned their arenas into registration or voting centers.
The NBA's full schedule for the season will be released at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.