The effort already has a footprint in the important swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the group hopes to expand to include up to 25 teams and arenas in the coming weeks. The project is also working with George Linardos — the CEO of Learfield IMG College, which works with dozens of college athletic programs and conferences — to bring college venues into the fold, and organizers are beginning talks with large venues outside the sports world as well.

“This is exactly the kind of public-private type partnership that the voting process has always needed,” said Amber McReynolds, a former Colorado elections official who runs NVAHI. “We’ve always needed the support, and I think the pandemic has energized it.”

The project is connecting individual arenas and teams with local election officials to develop plans to open for early voting, hold September voter registration drives and serve as super centers in November. A super center is a location set up to handle a large number of voters from across one jurisdiction, typically a county, where anyone can vote regardless of their usual polling place.

The initiative mirrors another effort by More Than a Vote, a new group started up by NBA superstar LeBron James along with other athletes and entertainers, which has recruited other teams, like the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Dodgers, to open their now-empty venues as polling places.

Sports arenas are ideal venues for election work, especially in a pandemic, McReynolds said. They are cavernous spaces that allow for hundreds of polling booths while maintaining social distancing. Election observers could watch from the stands, and the venues often have big parking structures that could accommodate voters. In addition, many arenas are already compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which can be a challenge when local election authorities are hunting for precinct locations.

“It is important to be able to identify a secure voting location you know will be open on Election Day,” said Jared Dearing, executive director of the Kentucky state board of elections. “It is also important for emergency planning: On Election Day, if a polling location can’t open up … now you’ve got a release value, an emergency backup plan, and you can direct voters to that location.”

Dearing is advising the program after Kentucky used the super center model in its primaries, winning praise from voting rights groups for adapting well to the pandemic and keeping the election accessible for voters.

The Election Super Centers Project has a group of election experts advising the project, and it is also partnering with groups like Rock the Vote and Voto Latino to promote voter turnout. Celebrities including Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, singer John Legend and Public Enemy frontman Chuck D have also joined the project.