More than 700 business leaders signed the "We Stand for Democracy" pledge last year to push back against voting restrictions.

Why it matters: Since then, many companies in battleground states are wading in deeper by executing large, internal get-out-the-vote campaigns to promote a fair democratic process.

Zoom in: A majority of employees view the workplace as an "island of civility" and one of the last remaining places for respectful civic discourse, according to Edelman's Trust Barometer.

• 70% of employees want to work for a place that impacts society for the better and 6 in 10 young employees expect their employers to inform civil discourse outside of the workplace.

Zoom out: 72% of Americans want business leaders to provide employees with up-to-date voting information too.

State of play: The Home Depot and Delta Airlines — both headquartered in Georgia — have created resources for employees to check registration status, locate polling places, review candidate platforms or vote early (which is especially important for Delta’s on-the-go workforce).

• Starbucks and Amazon — two of the largest employers in the U.S. — provide registration resources through staff intranets, but it’s up to employees to make arrangements or request time off to vote in person.
• Meanwhile, female-owned companies like The Honey Pot, Ring Concierge, Stix and Tache are giving employees time off to vote.

What they’re saying: "This is a major election, and the simple fact that brands are closing for the day reinforces to their employees the importance of voting — it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're on ... it's just important that you go out and vote," says Melissa Duren Conner, co-founder of Jennifer Bett Communications.

• “People understand that their personal lives and professional lives are intertwined. Thinking about civic engagement within the context of your employee engagement pillars is also important for Gen Z," DoSomething.org CEO DeNora Getachew said in a September interview with Axios.
• "And if companies are going to make broad claims about fighting against voter suppression — like they did back in 2021 — employees expect to see that [business leaders] are going to live up to that."

State of play: While most voters across the political spectrum believe business leaders have a role in promoting a peaceful democratic process, the partisan divide is stark.

A large majority of Americans fear that misinformation will continue to be weaponized, and as one of the remaining bastions of trust, employers are tasked with making sense of things.

Why it matters: If misinformation creeps into the workplace, it can "present risks to company culture, cohesion and productivity," writes the Civic Alliance.

• 74% of Americans trust their employers more than any other institution, and employees are most likely to believe information they receive at work over anything they see in the news or on social media.

Driving the news: More than 60 activist groups sent a letter to the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube pressuring them to be more vigilant in combating dis- and misinformation, reports Axios' Ashley Gold.

• Just days after the letter was sent, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk used the platform to spread misinformation about the attack on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, in a since-deleted tweet.
• Musk "plans to roll back content moderation on the platform in favor of 'free speech" but recognizes that 'Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape,'” Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

Yes, but: "Elon Musk aside, I don't worry about business leaders being a source of misinformation," says Judy Samuelson, founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program. "The question is the extent they will be willing to call out misinformation."

The bottom line: "This is not a domain that CEOs and senior executives have traditionally been comfortable and involved in ... but there is no such thing as a neutral stance today," Samuelson says. "Employees are the most important stakeholder and they have expectations — so there's no sitting on the fence."

Political affiliation directly impacts a brand's reputation, but some brands are able to cut through the partisan divide, writes Axios' Sara Fischer.

Yes, but: A business leader's personal politics can dramatically sway public perception of the brand — seen here with Elon Musk and Tesla.

Go deeper: The 2022 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings examine the reputation of the most visible brands in America, from Trader Joe's to Disney.

While honoring Judy Woodruff at the New York Women in Communications Matrix Awards, longtime CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl said, "No one asks tougher questions. No one listens better and therefore comes back with the perfect follow-up... She is a brilliant interviewer."

Why it matters: To be a great journalist you have to be an effective communicator — and Woodruff is both.

• "As news reporters, our responsibility is to inform citizens with facts and context. Whether writing or broadcasting, there is a premium on clarity," she tells Axios.

🌅 Morning ritual: She starts her day by 6:30am with a workout, followed by a hot espresso and a cold brew, banana and yogurt with blueberries for breakfast. 

🌡 Hardest day at work: Woodruff has covered some of the toughest moments in modern U.S. history, like the 1981 assassination attempt of President Reagan — "I was standing 25 feet from him and had to remain calm and focused despite seeing his press secretary Jim Brady and two others lying in pools of blood." 

• She was at CNN during 9/11. "I anchored for eight or nine hours straight, watching the towers of the World Trade Center collapse, knowing thousands of souls were lost. There is no way to witness such a catastrophe without being deeply affected." 
• And most recently at PBS NewsHour, she has covered the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection. 
• "Anchoring and reporting daily on the loss of life from COVID-19 has taken a toll on every reporter who covered it."
• "And watching the attack on the U.S. Capitol unfold in real time was a wrenching experience. ... I believe we all learned that some Americans hold less respect for our democratic institutions than we had believed possible. It’s been sobering."

☮️ De-stress routine: To unwind, Woodruff will indulge in chocolate chip cookies or a glass of wine with dinner.

📈 Trend spot: "The enormous political polarization in the country and threats to democracy. As well as the effect smartphones and social media are having on us."

🗞 Media diet: Woodruff reads The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic and listens to NPR, C-SPAN radio and the Politics War Room podcast (hosted by her husband and fellow journalist, Al Hunt).

• She's also waiting for new episodes of “The Crown” and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

💡 Tip: Work hard, seek out mentors and be a team player.

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Since 1976, Lake Superior State University has curated a list of the most overused phrases.

• Recent winners — like "new normal" (2022), "unprecedented" (2021), "covfefe" (2018) and "on fleek" (2017) — offer a snapshot in time.
• In 2023, I'd like to leave behind "hybrid," "work-life balance" and "one thing about me ..."

❓What phrases would you axe? Nominations accepted through Nov. 30.