Long Lines to Vote? Nonprofit 'Pizza to the Polls' Has Sent 10,000 Pies to Waiting Voters

Forget about partisan politics for a minute. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that exercising your right to vote is important. That’s why you might be reading this article in a long line at your polling place right now. How’d you like someone to deliver free pizza to make that line more manageable and encourage people to stay in it?

That’s exactly what Pizza to the Polls, a nonprofit charitable organization, does. Their team sends free pizzas to everyone at polling places, including anyone standing in line to vote, poll workers, observers, and whoever else is there helping democracy happen. Here’s how Pizza to the Polls works, and how you can get pizzas if your voting line is snaking around the block. 

“Pizza to the Polls is here to deliver the one thing that pairs perfectly with freedom: piping hot ’za,” according to their website. On election day, people report long lines to the organization, and they and their volunteers — with the help of pizza places, of course — get pizzas to the polling place. 

Their mission is “to deliver free food to people who are participating in civic life, from long lines at polling places to nonpartisan events focused on voter education, registration, and turnout.” 

The organization started in 2016 when Scott Duncombe, a software developer in Portland, saw that people in Cleveland were stuck in line at the polls. He decided to call up a Cleveland pizza place and get a bunch of pizzas delivered to them. That idea quickly turned into a name and social media accounts, where the charity and pizza recipients do a lot of communicating.  

During the 2020 presidential election, the organization raised $1.5 million, which translated to 70,000 pizzas to 3,000 polling stations in 48 states. Now, they’re at almost 10,000 pizzas sent in all 50 states, and they’re ready to sling those pies on November 5th, 2024. 

On Election Day, Pizza to the Polls will send a pizza to any polling place in the U.S., as long as they have a pizza place that will deliver there. You can check out the organization’s account on X to see where they’re delivering pizzas in real time. (Warning: You may get a serious swell of warm and fuzzy feelings!) 

If you’re currently standing in a huge line at your polling place, or see lines in your neighborhood, you can report it on Pizza to the Polls submission form. They’ll need an address and some other information, including the estimated wait in line, your name and number (so they can let you know when they place the order!), and a photo of the line for verification. You’ll also need to agree that this pizza is free to anyone, no strings attached, and that you will not use it to try and sway votes or entice people to vote. 

If you’re lucky enough to not have a long line at your polling place but still want to help, you can donate to Pizza at the Polls on their website. Because it’s a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit public charity, your donation will be tax deductible.  

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