The Utah Jazz and the NBA had a night off on Tuesday, but why?
The entire NBA took the night off on Tuesday, leaving the entire league quiet for a single night. That means a night of no highlights, trade demands or odd takes by Shaquille O’Neal about how Bol Bol is everywhere. No, the NBA and the Utah Jazz were quiet by proxy.
But why?
Well, Tuesday, Nov. 7 was, at least nationally here in the United States, election day. Millions upon millions of people descended on to voting booths yesterday to let their voices be heard. Everyone across the states wanted to make it known which direction they wanted to see their cities, counties, states and of course, country go in.
To help support the idea that voting and democracy matter, the NBA has taken off federal election days to encourage fans and players to vote. With many people pushing for Election Day to be a federal holiday where everyone is off, thus allowing more the opportunity to share their voice, the NBA is taking a positive step to try and make that idea a reality.
The ironic thing about all this, Utah is among the only states to not have anything to vote on yesterday, but not out of a lack of need. While not every state or city had a major election or issue on their ballot, just about everywhere you saw people voting.
But not in Utah. Due to a special election in congressional District 2, Utah’s Election Day has been moved back two weeks to Nov. 21.
It’s apparently been a change that most residents were unaware of, according to Weber County Clerk Ricky Hatch, who told KSL.com;
"Most voters are not aware of the change."
But why is this happening? Well, Rep. Chris Stewart stepped down in the affected area due to his wife’s ongoing medical issues. And because Utah has a law that states no special election can be held on existing election dates, the state was forced to move the state’s election date.
So if you’re a resident of the state of Utah, Nov. 21 is your day to get out and vote.