BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The ability to
vote is one of the most important American civil liberties.
However, U.S. Census Bureau research shows that one of the primary
reasons people don't vote is due to travel: they are out of town on
Election Day. Several Expedia, Inc.
brands, including Expedia.com®, Hotels.com®, Egencia®, and
Travelocity®, are reminding travelers to take time to identify
their voting strategy if they will be away from home on
Election Day.
According to Department of Transportation data, on any given
day, approximately 1.95 million Americans take flight. If a sizable
percentage of that number of people fails to vote because they are
traveling, that can swing the election in one direction or the
other. In the 2000 Presidential election, fewer than 500,000 votes
separated the candidates.
Absentee ballot and early voting are two tools that are
particularly valuable for citizens who may not be home on
Tuesday, November 8. That's why in
advance of Election Day, Google is
making the voter registration process easier than ever before by
giving citizens detailed information on how to secure an absentee
ballot and vote early, directly on Google Search. Check your
voting deadlines, learn early voting deadlines, and see how to cast
an absentee vote.
Every traveler who books a trip away from home on November 8 will receive an alert from Expedia
letting them know that the travel will impact Election day voting. They will be encouraged to
cast an absentee ballot, or early vote in the 34 states that permit
it.
"Expedia, Inc. wants to help eliminate travel as the reason
citizens fail to vote," said John
Morrey, Vice President and General Manager, Brand Expedia. "We are reaching out to consumers
we know are traveling during the voting period to encourage them to
take action before their trip. Google has several search tools
available that alert voters to their state's voting policies."
"As voters prepare for Election
Day, we've worked to make the voting process easier and more
accessible than ever before. Whether you're voting early or at the
polls, we want everyone to have the information they need to
participate in the political process," said Emily Moxley, Product Manager at Google. "We're
proud to team up with Expedia as we use technology to drive record
turnout on Election Day."
Expedia, Inc. brands, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Orbitz,
CheapTickets, Egencia, Travelocity and Hotwire are conducting email
outreach to hundreds of thousands of consumers and utilizing
various communication channels to encourage travelers to
vote.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) is the world's largest online
travel company, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes
leading online travel brands, such as:
- Expedia.com®, a leading full service online travel company with
localized sites in 33 countries
- Hotels.com®, a preeminent global lodging expert operating in
more than 65 countries and 35 languages with its award winning
Hotels.com® Rewards loyalty program
- Orbitz Worldwide, including leading U.S. travel websites
Orbitz.com and CheapTickets.com, as well as ebookers, a full
service travel brand with websites in seven European countries
- Expedia® Affiliate Network (EAN), a global B2B business that
powers the hotel business of leading airlines, top consumer brands,
online travel agencies and thousands of other partners through its
API and template solutions
- trivago®, a leading online hotel search with sites in 55
countries worldwide
- HomeAway®, a global online marketplace for the vacation rental
industry, which also includes the VRBO, VacationRentals.com and
BedandBreakfast.com brands, among others
- Egencia®, a leading corporate travel management company
- Travelocity®, a leading online travel brand in the U.S. and
Canada delivering customer service
when and where our customers need it with the Customer 1st
Guarantee
- Hotwire®, inspiring spontaneous travel through Hot Rate®
deals
- Expedia® Media Solutions, the advertising sales division of
Expedia, Inc. that builds media partnerships and enables brand
advertisers to target a highly-qualified audience of travel
consumers
- Wotif Group, a leading portfolio of travel brands including
Wotif.com®, Wotif.co.nz, lastminute.com.au®, lastminute.co.nz and
travel.com.au®
- Classic Vacations®, a top luxury travel specialist
- CarRentals.com™, a premier online car rental booking
company with localized sites in 13 countries
- Expedia Local Expert®, a provider of online and in-market
concierge services, activities, experiences and ground
transportation in hundreds of destinations worldwide
- Venere.com™, an online hotel reservation specialist in
Europe
- Expedia® CruiseShipCenters®, a provider of exceptional value
and expert advice for travelers booking cruises and vacations
through its network of over 220 retail travel agency franchises
across North America
For corporate and industry news and views, visit us at
www.expediainc.com or follow us on Twitter @expediainc.
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owners. © 2016 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
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