NBA to schedule no games on election day

The full 2022-23 NBA schedule will be released on Wednesday afternoon, but we’re already learning bits and pieces. We already know four of the Golden State Warriors games, for instance: they’ll kick off the season on Opening Night, when they host the Los Angeles Lakers; they’ll renew their rivalry with the Memphis Grizzlies on Christmas day; and they’ll rematch the 2022 NBA Finals when they play the Boston Celtics on December 10 in San Francisco and on January 19 in Boston.

But while the scheduling excitement is usually focused on when the 82 games are happening, this year we’re getting to focus on when they’re not happening. Because in a memo sent out on Tuesday, the NBA announced that there will be no games in the league on November 8, which is election day.

Here’s the full memo:

The NBA today announced that no games will be played on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. 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 the midterm elections.

Over the next few months, teams will distribute information on their state’s voting process and voter registration deadlines and are encouraging everyone to communicate this information with families and friends to ensure they all have a plan. On Monday, November 7th, the league will use the platform of games played to amplify the work of each team to promote civic engagement in their respective markets and share important voting resources from our partners.

The league has made voting a priority in its outreach over the last few years, speaking out against laws aimed to create voter suppression, spreading information on how to register, and offering up arenas as polling centers. In 2020, the Warriors used not just the Chase Center, but also their Oakland training facility and the Santa Cruz Warriors arena as ballot drop-off locations, with Steve Kerr making headlines for hanging with fans after dropping off his ballot. And the Warriors efforts to help encourage voting and spread information date far before that.

The midterm elections are incredibly important, and for California residents they include seven propositions, Senator, Governor, and Secretary of State battles, and so much more. In order to vote on November 8, you must be registered by October 24.

Find out all the information you need for California’s midterm elections here.