Voter-turnout efforts have a long history at apparel maker and retailer Levi Strauss & Co. In the early days of the company, its eponymous founder closed his store in California and gave his employees days off so they could cast votes in the election of 1864. Some 160 years later, the company is still putting voting-rights at the center of its corporate activism—now with a campaign that aims to mobilize potential voters at community colleges.
Low turnout has long been a challenge for the U.S. political system: In 2020 presidential election, only 61.5% of the voting-age population cast ballots—and that was the highest figure since 1960.
