Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country will cancel the first round of movie showtimes on Tuesday, Nov. 6, and open mid-afternoon so that all of its employees can vote on election day.
“My mom instilled in me at a young age the importance of voting in every election, and I try to pay that forward with the staff at Alamo,” says Tim League, founder and CEO of the progressive Texas-based circuit, which operates 36 cinemas in cities across the country. “So, we’re closing our locations for the first round of shows and offering to pick up the tab on any staff member’s rideshare to a polling place.”
Alamo locations, like other cinemas, usually offer late morning or noon showtimes.
Alamo Drafthouse says at the top of its core priorities is civic participation, including encouraging voter participation in the 27 cities it serves. Those efforts have included a national voter awareness PSA contest, partnerships with civic leaders on non-partisan voter registration campaigns, distribution of “I’m So Gonna Vote” stickers at the box office and, for many employees, actually becoming voter registrars.
The circuit’s social media team also had what’s described as “cheeky” fun on Oct. 8 when announcing in a viral post that Alamo’s “No Talking, No Texting” policy was being put up to a vote.
