Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury team up for voting center

A new partnership between the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury is helping get out the vote for this year’s election. The two teams will be transforming the Veterans Memorial Coliseum into a voting center and early ballot drop-off location.

As of Saturday, Oct. 24, voters can bring their ballot to the drop-off location. “All you have to do is just drive up and someone will come get it,” said Melissa Goldenberg, senior vice president and general counsel for the Phoenix Suns.

It was important for the partners to make this as easy as possible for this election season.”We started talking in advance of the primary about how we could possibly use our resources to bring access and participation in this year’s election,” Goldenberg said.

Because the Suns’ current arena is under construction, the team reached out to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the original home of the Phoenix Suns. Because the Suns and the Mercury had been practicing there, Goldenberg said the location didn’t need much work for the Board of Elections to get it ready for voters. There are also precautions for COVID-19 concerns to make sure voters feel safe.

Goldenberg noted that Phoenix is part of a larger trend: Many NBA and WNBA teams and their arenas are making similar arrangements.