Phoenix Suns players encourage Arizonans to vote; don't vote themselves
I obtained voter files from prominent Phoenix Suns players; they don't vote.
During the 2022 election cycle, there were a handful of commercials showing Phoenix Suns players telling Arizonans to register to vote and participate in democracy by voting in the election. One player featured prominently was 2021 Sixth Man of the Year finalist Cameron Johnson, the Suns’ starting forward this year.
Johnson informs viewers about voting options in Arizona, emphasizes voting in the election is “secure and simple” and shares where to go in order to register with closing remarks, “Democracy is a team sport. It works best when we all participate.”
His words, it turns out, are incredibly ironic.
Cam Johnson is not registered to vote in Arizona.
I sent a request to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, who it appears partnered with the Suns on the video (the Suns’s arena, Footprint Center, was one of several county vote centers this cycle), for the following voter files: Johnson, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, head coach Monty Williams –– as well as Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim.1
Out of them all, Johnson is the only one who did not turn up any records.
“Please be advised there are no registered voters under the name Cameron Jordan Johnson and the credentials provided,” the county recorder’s office told me.
I used his full legal name, his birthdate and the address of the $2.35 million Scottsdale home he’s owned for more than one year, according to county assessor records.
There was nobody by that name registered to vote there. Nor by any other iteration of his name.
It’s possible Johnson is registered to vote in another state or maybe another address, but living in a home he owns for almost two years makes it less likely he’s registered to vote elsewhere.
It’s weird the Suns would pick Johnson to encourage people to register to vote when he wouldn’t even do the same thing. How important can democracy be to him if he tells people “It works best when we all participate,” but then refuses to listen to his own words.
He may be the only one listed who isn’t registered, but the records show none of the others typically vote when given the chance.
Booker, who is one of the best NBA players, is registered to vote and has been since March 2017, but his file shows he has never actually voted in an election.
Like Johnson, Booker spoke out for democracy’s sake in a video encouraging others to vote during 2020.
Booker and many other NBA players became really vocal during the 2020 bubble led in part by Chris Paul, aka the “Point God,” the Suns’ starting point guard. (Paul was not yet on the Suns at this point.)
Booker even updated his voter registration in June of 2020, but when it came time for the August primary or the November general election, Booker did not cast his ballot.
Mikal Bridges and Monty Williams are the only ones who have previously voted since registering in Arizona, but only one time each.
Bridges voted in the 2020 general election, but none of the others since he registered in September 2018.
Williams registered to vote in July 2019, when he moved to Phoenix, and only cast a vote in the 2020 general election. He is on the Active Early Voting List.
I should note that these files were compiled by the county before the 2022 general election, so it is unclear whether any of them voted this cycle, but given voting patterns it seems unlikely.
Kingsbury and Keim have never voted in Arizona since they each registered in 2020 and 2018, respectively.
I was planning to do the Suns starting lineup, but Chris Paul doesn’t appear to live full time in Arizona and DeAndre Ayton is not yet an American citizen. I threw in the Cardinals’ members just out of pure curiosity.