Business looks to boost voter turnout in Council election
Businesses are invited to join a local effort to help boost voter turnout in Cape Coral.
VoteCapeCoral.com is a website with the mission of encouraging the city’s residents to vote in the upcoming primary and general elections by rewarding them for doing so. Founded by Dan Puleio, the owner of Cape Cleaners, he came up with the idea after moving to the area and seeing an election.
“I became aware of the fact the voter turnout for local elections was pretty pathetic,” he said.
So, he came up with a plan for the 2013 election cycle – patrons who presented him with their “I Voted” sticker on election day would earn a discount. Other local businesses hopped on board.
“That was the first time I did it,” Puleio said. “This will be the third election cycle.”
As of Thursday, about seven merchants had signed up to take part.
“We’re kind of early in the game. I’m sure we’ll have a lot more,” he said.
“We’ve just started to spread the word on it,” Puleio added.
The last election cycle, approximately 20 merchants offered discounts and freebies.
“I’d love to see us get 20, 30, maybe more,” he said of this election.
The rewards apply to the primary and general elections. For example, Cape Cleaners will offer a 10 percent discount on dry cleaning and laundry, while BackStreets Sports Bar will give away free pizza.
“We’ve had a little bit of everything,” Puleio of the merchants.
He cited consignment shops and hair salons, to travel agencies and mortgage companies.
“If they show up with an ‘I Voted’ sticker or a picture of their ballot or a picture of the envelope they mailed it in, they get the discount,” Puleio said.
This election, he has partnered with Cape Marketing Group to grow the effort.
Businesses interested in taking part can visit the website at: www.votecapecoral.com/ . Under the “Contact Us” tab, merchants can find an online form that they can fill out to join the effort.
Puleio emphasized that the goal is to get people voting.
“They need to get out and vote, whether they take advantage or not,” he said.
“This is just a little extra incentive,” Puleio added.
For more information, visit online at: www.votecapecoral.com/.
The primary election is set for Sept. 12, and the general election is on Nov. 7.