ROCK THE VOTE TO LAUNCH LARGEST NON-PARTISAN VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE OF 2012 GENERAL ELECTION
Americans ages 18-29 will make up nearly one quarter of the electorate in 2012, but a surge of new state laws – including restrictions on voter registration and early voting, onerous voter ID rules, and residency requirements – could prevent Millenials from casting ballots this November. Rock the Vote, the country’s single largest non-partisan voter registration organization, will launch a multi-faceted campaign on Wednesday, May 2 at 1 PM Eastern aimed at registering 1.5 million voters in 2012 and hoping to fuel record turnout among youth for the third presidential election in a row.
While news reports indicate that restrictive new voter laws may be limiting new registrations and participation compared to four years ago, the national phone briefing will detail how Rock the Vote and its allies will wage a national campaign to mobilize millions of young voters to make their voices heard at the polls on Election Day. The campaign will include the following:
Social Media and New Technology:
- New mobile applications and online voter registration technologies will engage young people in the campaign and give them the tools to make registering and voting easier.
Music and Celebrities:
- Includes Rock the Vote’s 2012 Ambassadors who will promote voting to their audiences, Radio Rocks the Vote programming and a new “Spin the Vote” initiative at electronic music festivals across the country.
Research:
- State Voting System Scorecard – a national benchmark that measures state laws and policies that move us toward a 21st century voting system in three key areas: 1) voter registration 2) casting a ballot and 3) young voter preparation.
- New Polling on Young Voters – definitive polling on the issues that matter most to young voters.
Education:
- Democracy Class – a one-class-period lesson plan to be taught in over 3,000 high schools that uses music and popular culture to teach young people how to navigate the elections process and register to vote.
- Voter Education and Protection – online and on-the-ground voting resources will be complimented by poll watching to make sure eligible young people are able to vote on Election Day.
Voter Mobilization:
- Street Teams –student volunteers will lead Rock the Vote street teams at the largest universities in dozens of states and will register voters at festivals, sporting events and community gatherings, and ensure their fellow students turn out to vote.
- RNC and DNC Conventions –Rock the Vote will send first-time voters as delegates to the RNC and DNC Conventions and host major visibility events showing the power of the youth vote in 2012.
- Pledge to Vote – at festivals, concerts, sporting and community events, Rock the Vote will ask attendees to take the “Don’t Block My Vote” pledge to cast their ballots on November 6.
- Southwest – an initiative aimed at increasing voter registration and turnout among Latino and Native American voters in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.
WHAT:
Rock the Vote 2012 Campaign Launch
WHO:
Heather Smith, President, Rock the Vote
Jaynie Parish, Rock the Vote Southwest Field Organizer
Student Volunteers from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Central Florida
WHEN:
Wednesday, May 2
1 PM Eastern
For the conference call dial-in information, please RSVP to Tim Bradley at tim@berlinrosen.com.