ROCK THE VOTE AIMS TO MAKE HISTORY ON NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY
On Tuesday, September 25, Rock the Vote will celebrate National Voter Registration Day by setting a new record for number of voters Rock the Vote has registered on a single day. At major events in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York City, young people will have a chance to register and hear about the voting requirements in their state. And in cities across the country, Rock the Vote community street teams will hold registration drives in their communities using registration toolkits.
“The attack on voting rights is about politicians trying to choose who they represent,” said Rock the Vote President Heather Smith. “In honor of National Voter Registration Day, we’re ramping up our efforts to help young people take action so that it’s the other way around.”
Before kicking off the second leg of its tour, Rock the Vote’s Road Trip 2012 bus tour will wrap up its trip up the East Coast with a special performance by Talib Kweli and an appearance by Miss USA Olivia Culpo at the Community College of Philadelphia, where students will be able to register to vote on the tour bus and get the information they’ll need to make their voices heard. Pennsylvania has become a flashpoint in the fight against voting restrictions, with more that 43 percent of Philadelphia residents lacking the valid state-issued photo ID they need to vote under the state’s new voter ID law.
Rock the Vote’s National Voter Registration Day celebration will continue in Hollywood with two concerts featuring Band of Horses at Space 15 Twenty and Murs x Fashawn at Hollywood’s Amoeba Music Store, as well as a Voter Jam in New York with NYCVotes! and Hot 97. Celebrities and activists will provide information about polling and voter requirements, and voter registration drives will take place at both locations.
In addition, Rock the Vote has equipped community street team leaders across the country to host their own National Voter Registration Day events with the help of organizing toolkits. The toolkits are complete with everything one would need to have a successful voter registration event, including an organizer guide, tips for voter registration, state-specific instructions, and Rock the Vote swag. There’s even a comprehensive social media resource that includes information about the easy to use tools like the “Text VOTE to RTVote” campaign and “Scan to Vote” QR code, a free customizable online app, so that young people can rock the vote in their own communities. In partnership with Rock the Vote, Native Vote Action Week will also launch this week with over 130 events to encourage increased civic participation among American Indians and Native Alaskans.
The nationwide push around National Voter Registration Day comes as part of Rock the Vote’s “We Will” campaign, which includes the nationwide bus tour, a star-studded public service announcement, the “We Will” Pledge to Vote, and a robust, nationwide outdoor advertising campaign—complete with a banner in Times Square.
For more information on the “We Will” campaign, click here.
To reach young and first-time voters online, Rock the Vote has also introduced groundbreaking social media and online apps to facilitate registration for first-time voters—including a Rock the Vote Facebook app and new technology that allows users in states like Washington to register to vote (from their phone, iPad, or computer) completely online, with no printing, signing, or mailing involved. And beginning on National Voter Registration Day, Spotify will promote public service advertisements for Rock the Vote’s “We Will” campaign—encouraging users of the popular music streaming service to register to vote.
Rock the Vote launched the #wewill campaign in response to an onslaught of voting rights restrictions passed in states across the country that make it more difficult for students and young people to make their voices heard. Rock the Vote is also fighting these laws in court and encouraging schools in Pennsylvania and other states to add an expiration date to student IDs so they can be used to vote. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, restrictions like voter ID laws could leave as many as 5 million Americans, including many young people and students, unable to vote.
About Rock the Vote | www.rockthevote.org
Rock the Vote’s mission is to engage and build political power for young people in our country. Using music, popular culture, new technologies and grassroots organizing for more than 20 years, Rock the Vote has registered more than 5 million young people, including a record- shattering 2.25 million registration downloads in the historic 2008 election. As the tidal wave of Millennial generation voters continues to establish its power at the polls, Rock the Vote will register millions more young people and make their voices heard.