TAMPA, Fla. – The United Soccer League and USL Black Players Alliance announced Monday the creation of partnerships with Activote and the Civic Alliance aimed toward increasing voter awareness and participation in upcoming national, state and local elections.

The Civic Alliance is a non-partisan business coalition that supports a safe, healthy and trusted election.

The group includes more than 225 companies – including the National Football League, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer among many others – that employ more than 3.5 million people and a reach of hundreds of millions of consumers annually. Founded by the CAA Foundation and Democracy Works, the Civic Alliance’s goal is for voter turnout to surpass 80 percent of eligible voters by 2028.

Activote serves as an online app that has been shown to increase voter participation by 40 percent, providing details on elections, candidate details and electoral races that are easily accessible and up to date with accurate information.

The app, which does not share personal information, helps voters decide which candidates’ views align most closely to theirs and provides a reminder for each election to allow people to make their plan on how to vote.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.