We’re in the midst of another election season and the stakes are high. Despite the frustration that many of us feel with a two-party system and an outdated electoral college methodology, we believe that participation in the process is crucial - flawed as it may be. Many politicians lie and disappoint; we get that. And for some of us, the reality is that our own lives may not be deeply affected by whoever sits in the White House. For those who fall into that bucket, we should count ourselves fortunate to hold such privilege. But at a time when the health, well-being and livelihood of so many in our country are being threatened in deep ways, may we suggest that perhaps it is time that we begin voting for the interest and well-being of our neighbors as ourselves?

Presidential candidates often ask the question “Is your life better than it was 4 years ago?” as a litmus test on whether the incumbent has been good for the country. The reality is, the effective tax rate for our business has fallen under the existing regime. But we’ve been harmed in other ways, from international trade to the handling of the pandemic severely disrupting our supply chain. And we can safely say that life has not improved for so many in the US; a walk around Skid Row in DTLA or the Bowery by our new flagship store will show that far too many Americans live too close to the poverty threshold, and that the wealth gap continues to increase at an alarming rate. For these reasons and more, we vote.

Whether you are casting an absentee ballot or voting in-person, one important thing we’d like to encourage you to do is research candidates for local elections that are on the ballot. Meaningful neighborhood change begins here, and it’s important to study the policies and the platforms of the people who are running for various offices. From Supreme Court justices to borough presidents, your vote matters in major ways. Ballotpedia allows you to look up your address to see exactly who will be on your ballot. If you live in California, it goes so far as to break down various Propositions up for vote and explains in clear terms what you’re voting for, along with detailed perspectives for and against it. In New York, we’ve found Who’s On the Ballot to be a helpful resource. And if you need more guidance on voting overall, we've linked to I Will Vote in our navigation bar above; it's a website that lays your options out quite clearly and helps you develop a voting plan.

The peaceful protests for racial justice that spanned the country earlier this year awakened so many to the plight of Blacks in America. They forced us to wrestle with a wellspring of pain that was far too easy to ignore before. Working towards a society that values all men and women equally regardless of ethnicity, sex, orientation, or age means that we must do the difficult work of researching and electing leaders who work towards these ideals, and keeping them accountable when they do not. It means a lot of other things too: getting involved with your local community board, mentoring at-risk youth, serving at a food pantry, or joining your kids’ parent-teacher association.

We know that there are plenty of important reasons to vote beyond buying new stuff, and we certainly wouldn’t want you to buy something if you don’t need it. That being said, we wanted to issue a small discount as a token of our appreciation to those of you who are choosing to participate in your civic duty. From now until November 3rd, send us a selfie of you participating - it can be while you're in line at a voting site, or with an “I Voted” sticker, or with your sealed absentee ballot - and we will attach a 10% discount code to your 3sixteen.com account. The code can only be used once and will expire on December 31st, 2020. A few details:

• In order for us to include you on the code, you must have an account on 3sixteen.com already established. 

• Please email your photos to info@3sixteen.com with "I VOTED" in the subject line, using the email account you’re registered on 3sixteen.com with. This will help us to look you up assign the code correctly.

• You may also come into our flagship stores and show us your selfie photo to obtain the discount in person.

• This code is meant to be applied towards a future transaction and cannot be applied retroactively to purchases that were already made.

(Please note that depending on where you live, it may be illegal to take a selfie in the ballot box or with your ballot in hand and can cancel your vote out or even earn you a fine - just taking a photo with your sticker will suffice for us.)