Smoothie King Center will host early voters leading up to the 2020 United States Presidential Election.
The New Orleans Pelicans, who play their homes games at Smoothie King Center, announced the facility will host early voting for registered residents on October 16-27 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day, NOLA.com reports.
The announcement was made weeks after members of the city council approved a resolution asking state officials to use the city's sports venues as voting hubs. Voting at the NBA area is limited to residents of Orleans Parish.
In August, the NBA released a plan to increase voter turnout in the 2020 Presidential Election, which included team governors being asked to work with local officials in cities where an NBA team owns its area on using venues as voting sites. The Pelicans join several other NBA franchises that have since announced plans to host voters both for early voting and on election day including the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers (Staples Center), New York Knicks (Madison Square Garden), Indiana Pacers (Bankers Life Fieldhouse), Utah Jazz (Vivint Smart Home Arena), San Antonio Spurs (AT&T Center), Dallas Mavericks (American Airlines Center), and Cleveland Cavaliers (Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse).
Smoothie King Center, which is a state-owned arena, will be set up for voters to adhere to social distancing guidelines amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to NOLA.com. Louisiana voters can check the status of their registration or register online here or by texting "Pelicans" to 26797.
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