PRESS RELEASE from Rock the Vote
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
CONTACT: Zoe Bridges-Curry
ROCK THE VOTE AIMS TO MAKE HISTORY ON
NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY
With voter registration drives planned across the country, Rock the
Vote and our partners will register more people to vote on a single day
than ever before
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: 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.
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