The former California governor and self-proclaimed "fanatic about voting" Arnold Schwarzenegger has offered to pay to reopen polling centers across the US. Concerned about the current voting situation, Arnold wants to make sure that everyone is able to vote.
On a Twitter thread that rapidly went viral this week, the actor, bodybuilder, and former politician shared that he was willing to pay from his personal funds to help to re-open the polling centers that have been closed due to Covid-19 concerns and budget cuts.
More info: Twitter
Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his concerns about the closed-down polling centers across the US
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Arnold shared a Reuters article from September 2019 that explains the decision of states across the American South closing down nearly 1,200 polling places.
"I’ve been thinking about this a lot," he tweeted. "I’m a fanatic about voting. Most people call closing polls voter suppression. Some say it is 'budgetary.' What if I made it easy & solved the budgetary issue? How much would it cost to reopen polling places?"
He wanted to know whether the issues preventing reopening the centers are just budgetary
Image credits: Schwarzenegger
Arnold was quick to add that "this is a serious question."
"Is closing polling stations about making it harder for minorities to vote, or is it because of budgets? If you say it’s because of your budget, let’s talk," his tweet continued.
If so, Arnold is offering his financial support
Image credits: Schwarzenegger
It's not just talking that the Austrian-born celebrity is doing. He informed his Twitter followers that he sent a letter to almost 6,000 elections officials "inviting them to apply for grants, funded by me, to reopen polling centers and improve voting access."
And he already sent out a letter to elections officials encouraging them to apply for grants
Image credits: Schwarzenegger
"As I read stories about counties that only have one voting location for hundreds of square miles and people who wait in line for four hours to vote, I started thinking about this more and more and realized the solution is easy," Arnold's letter read, as Variety informs. "If you have a budget problem that keeps you from reopening polling stations, I want to help."
Which, according to the actor, will be completely "non-partisan"
Image credits: Schwarzenegger
He shared that the United States "gave him everything." Sure enough, his rise to politics seemed a bit of a stretch at first, but nonetheless, the Austrian-born bodybuilder managed to secure himself the position of governor of the state of California. Now, he's looking for ways to improve the voting situation so that everyone can have an opportunity to voice their opinion.
He also added that they will be offered to those "who demonstrate the greatest need"
Image credits: Schwarzenegger
The grants will be administered by the Schwarzenegger Institute at the University of Southern California. It's still unknown whether any states will take up Arnold's offer, and even whether it would be legal to do so in all 50 states.
It's still unclear whether any states will take up Arnold's offer
Image credits: schwarzenegger
Daniel Ketchell, Arnold's chief of staff, has told the media that, regarding the funds, the actor "hasn’t put a cap on it." "It’ll probably be a few million dollars," he added.
Here's how people responded to the Twitter thread
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