While the 2016 election promises to be an historic event regardless of its political outcome, this year may also be noted for a rise in civic engagement activities by arts organizations. Four of our grantee-partners — Cornerstone Theater Company, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts — in the New California Arts Fund each independently chose to become a polling place in the California primary and general elections this year.

Nearly 7 million people are expected to show up to a California polling place on November 8, making it an opportunity to reach a significant portion of our state. Polling places can be almost anywhere — from schools to synagogues, community centers to city hall. So why not a museum or theatre?

This is the third in a series of stories we’re hosting on Medium to share what the arts field is learning from experimenting with new forms of engagement with new audiences. The second, “Moving Board Diversity from a ‘Problem to Solve’ to ‘Something to Practice'” and first, “Tough Questions We Get Asked About Engagement Practices and Programming in the Arts,” were highlighted in previous blogs.