Businesses banding together to help boost voter turnout
Businesses again are invited to work together with a purpose to boost voter turnout in Cape Coral for the city’s upcoming primary and general elections.
Dan Puleio, owner of Cape Cleaners, just launched a revised and improved website expected to offer various merchant discounts to patrons who visit their businesses wearing an “I Voted” sticker on election day only. Cape Cleaners is offering a 10 percent discount on cleaning orders. The city primary election is set for Sept. 15 to be followed in November by the general election.
“Seventeen percent voter turnout is dismal,” said Puleio. “I’m just trying to do something to get out the vote.”
What he is doing is recruiting other business owners to offer some kind of price break, giveaway or discount of their choosing and post it on his website www.votecapecoral.com. New for this election cycle is web visitors will be able to click on a link to find the election dates as well as visit participating candidate links listed there.
“I was just at a business meeting and passed out 50 flyers to business owners,” said Puleio. “I also put it on Facebook, emailed everyone I know and I have posters hanging in my store (810 Cape Coral Parkway).”
Puleio attracted more than 20 other businesses when he launched the website program two years ago ahead of the last municipal elections. He expects many of those businesses to sign up again as well as grow the number with new participating establishments. Businesses who sign up for the primary stay on through the November election date, too. It costs nothing to post a special offer on Puleio’s website and businesses might see an increase in customer traffic on those two days.
“I’m just trying to get a buzz going about the election and encourage people to do their civic duty,” Puleio said. “You know the saying ‘if you don’t vote you can’t complain.”
Puleio does not know how many voters visited the participating businesses and received a discount or price break last time, but he was satisfied with the number of patrons who took advantage of his offer in 2013.
“I just know I received no negative feedback last time,” he said.
For more information visit www.votecapecoral.com.