Sacramento Kings Host ‘Rally The Vote’ Event On Election Night

The Sacramento Kings continued their work improving the community around them Tuesday by engaging with area youth about the importance of voting.

In partnership with the California Secretary of State’s office and When We All Vote, they hosted a student edition of Rally the Vote at the Golden 1 Center on Election Night. The goal of the event was to “educate young people about the importance of civic engagement.”

The Kings and nine other professional sports teams launched Rally the Vote in 2018, then expanded the partnership to over 50 professional sports teams in 2020. During the most recent Presidential election, the Golden 1 Center even served as a voting center for the Sacramento area.

Tuesday’s event was moderated by Kings play-by-play announcer Kyle Draper and included owner Vivek Ranadivé, California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, and former player and current activist Matt Barnes.

“It’s really a fundamental right that people have, but there’s a lot of blood that’s been shed over getting this right,” Ranadivé said. “The ability to vote, we must never take that for granted. It’s a privilege, but with privilege comes responsibility.”

Barnes explained voting and engaging in civic duties wasn’t something that was discussed when he was younger. He admitted he didn’t become active until he hit his 30s.

“It wasn’t something I was educated on so I took it upon myself to start educating myself,” Barnes said. “And now I’m glad that it’s a normal conversation to be had and really moving across the NBA.”

In addition to Tuesday’s rally, forward Harrison Barnes participated in a virtual roundtable hosted by the NBA. The discussion focused on how the NBA is inspiring fans to participate in civic duties.

“Voting is a long term game.”

Harrison Barnes discusses his mindset going into #ElectionDay and how to handle voter fatigue.

Get in the Game: VOTE TODAY pic.twitter.com/p4wPzHccOr

— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2022

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