Toyota Center, all other NBA arenas will serve as voting centers for 2020 presidential election

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets and the Harris County Clerk Office announced Thursday that the Toyota Center will be used as a voting center for the 2020 Presidential Election.

In efforts to promote greater civic engagement in national and local elections, the NBA and NBPA announced in a joint statement that all its arenas will turn into polling locations for the 2020 election.

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“These commitments follow months of close collaboration around designing a safe and healthy environment to restart the NBA season, providing a platform to promote social justice, as well as creating an NBA foundation focused on economic empowerment in the Black community,” the statement read in part.

The Toyota Center will be open to any registered voter in Harris County during early voting from Oct. 13-30 and on Election Day on Nov. 3, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Rockets said it has partnered with Houston First to provide free parking for voters throughout the process. Toyota Center will follow all the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health guidelines regarding social distancing, according to a press release.

“On behalf of the Houston Rockets, and Toyota Center, we are honored to help serve our community by providing a safe and convenient location for Harris County voters for the upcoming Presidential election,” said Doug Hall, general manager and senior vice president of Toyota Center.

Hall emphasized how important voting is in today’s environment and thankful the Rockets are able to offer support.

“Our elections this November will be historic, not only because we are electing the President of the United States, but also because we must meet the challenge as a community to ensure that every Harris County voter can cast their vote safely,” said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, opening the Toyota Center as a polling center helps Harris County’s efforts to accommodate and keeping voters safe while following the CDC’s recommendation of social distancing to help stop the spread of the virus. In-person voting has been an ongoing debate since the pandemic where residents and local governments were pushing for ballot by mail.

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For more details regarding parking and how to vote at the arena, click here.