Founded | 1990 in Los Angeles [1] |
---|---|
Focus | Voter registration, youth voting |
Location |
|
Area served | United States |
Method | Online mobilization, field organizing, entertainment community |
Website | rockthevote |
Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan [2] non-profit organization in the United States. Through registering new young voters, the group aims to "channel the energy among young people around racial, economic, and health justice into one of the most powerful actions they can take: voting." [3]
The organization was founded in 1990 by Virgin Records America Co-Chairman Jeff Ayeroff to encourage young Americans to vote. [4] It is geared toward increasing voter turnout among voters ages 18 to 24. [5] [6] Rock the Vote is known for its celebrity spokespeople and its partnership with MTV. [7]
Rock the Vote was founded in 1990 by Jeff Ayeroff with Virgin America co-chair Jordan Harris and Virgin executive Beverly Lund. Later, they hired Jodi Uttal and then Steve Barr, a campaign worker and political fundraiser, who became co-founders for their contribution to Rock the Vote.
Initially, Rock the Vote delivered its voter registration message by staffing tents at music festivals and concerts. [8] [9]
In 1991, their message was broadcast on MTV with Madonna's Rock the Vote Public Service Announcements (PSA) where she literally wrapped herself in the American flag. [10] [11] That same year, Barr, on behalf of Rock the Vote, testified before Congress to support pending voter registration legislation. [12]
Rock the Vote supported the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly referred to as the "motor voter" bill, which expanded access to voter registration. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The law requires state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or public assistance. [13]
In 1996, Rock the Vote created the first telephone voter registration system, 1-800-REGISTER, followed by the first online voter-registration system, NetVote, later that year. [14]
"We supported Rock the Vote", said Radiohead's Thom Yorke, "but – because of the way the whole political system works – it does seem rather odd to be choosing between one unworkable, outdated system and another. We need to go beyond that – because, at the moment, it's just Cowboys and Indians". [15]
With CNN, Rock the Vote organized "America Rocks the Vote", a 2003 Democratic presidential candidates forum at Faneuil Hall in Boston. [16]
Rock the Vote has expressed support for a public health insurance option. [17] It signed on to Health Care for America NOW!, a progressive political coalition that supported passage of the Affordable Care Act. In 2009, Rock the Vote ran a campaign encouraging people to refuse to have sex with those who opposed what they regarded as a reform of American health care. [18]
During the 2004 presidential election, Rock the Vote drew criticism from Republican Party officials such as Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie for sending a mock draft notice to over 600,000 e-mail addresses. The message included the words "Selective Service System" and read "You are hereby ordered for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States, and to report to a polling place near you" on November 2 (Election Day). The Rock the Vote logo and a facsimile of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's signature appeared at the bottom of the message. In addition, Rock the Vote created public service announcements featuring the subject of the draft. [19] [20] Besides making the PSAs available to large cable systems, they paid to run them on a random sample of small cable systems where they could measure the effects. Turnout was three percentage points higher among 18- to 19-year-olds in these sample areas than in the control group covered by other similar small cable systems; there was less effect above age 22. [21] [22]
According to the Los Angeles Times , Rock the Vote experienced financial problems in the aftermath of the 2004 election. It emerged from the election $700,000 in debt, and its president resigned in summer 2005 "amid disagreements about the organization's direction". [1] In 2008, Rock the Vote's youth vote registration drive resulted in 2.6 million young voters registered. [23]
In November 2012 and 2013 Rock the Vote experimented with Facebook ads to encourage voter turnout by telling people the number of days remaining until the election and which of their friends "liked" the countdown. The ads were shown to over 400,000 adults, randomly selected from a base over 800,000. Rock the Vote had helped many of them register. The ads did not increase turnout in the experimental group, compared to the control group who did not get the ads. [22] In 2012 they also experimented with text message reminders to 180,000 people who had provided their mobile numbers. Texts the day before the election raised turnout six tenths of a percentage point, while texts on election day lowered turnout. [22]
In advance of the 2014 elections, Rock the Vote released a video titled "Turn Out For What". It was a parody of Lil Jon and DJ Snake's song "Turn Down for What". [24] The video sought to encourage youth voter turnout and featured reproductive rights, marijuana legalization, global warming, LGBT rights, student debt, gun control, and deforestation as reasons why young Americans might want to vote. [25] The video was criticized for having a disproportionate representation of left-wing political issues. [26] The video was also criticized because several of the celebrities who appeared in it, including Lena Dunham, Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne, and Darren Criss, had not voted in the previous midterm election. [27]
The day after the 2016 US presidential election, Rock the Vote President and Executive Director Carolyn DeWitt issued a statement on behalf of the organization expressing disappointment with the election of Donald Trump and Republican Party congressional victories, writing "This is a jarring day for Millennial voters, who voted overwhelmingly for Secretary Clinton and for progressive candidates down the ticket...we woke up this morning with full hearts and piercing focus, not just on the next national election in two short years, but on putting the needs of young Americans, people of color and others feeling under siege, front and center for our new president and the 115th Congress". [28] In 2019, DeWitt spoke out in favor of abolishing the United States Electoral College. [29]
Rock the Vote: Democracy Class is a program put on by Rock the Vote. It is designed to educate high school students about voting, elections, and governance. The lesson plan uses music, pop culture, video, classroom discussion, and a mock election to teach young Americans about elections. [30] [31] On Democracy Day 2011, teachers in all 50 states committed to teaching Democracy Class in more than 1,100 classrooms. [30] High school students in Democracy Classes participate in mobile polls that assess their viewpoints on public policy issues. [32]
Corporate contributors and partners provide financial support, employee volunteers, releasing limited edition voting merchandise, in-app registration, rideshares, space for in person voter registration or other in-kind contributions. This includes Chicago Sky (WNBA team), [33] Comedy Central, [34] Cox Enterprises (including subsidiaries Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Cox Homelife), [35] Cricket Wireless, [36] Doordash, [37] Foot Locker (includes Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, and Eastbay), [38] Fossil, [39] Gap Inc. (Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, Intermix, Janie and Jack, and Hill City brands), [40] Hulu, [41] Kate Spade, [42] Lyft, [43] Macy's, [42] Snapchat, [43] Spencer's [44] , The Los Angeles Lakers, [45] Tommy Hilfiger, [46] Uber, [43] VH1, [34] WarnerMedia (including HBO), [47] Yelp, [48] Yum! (operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit), [49] and Zumiez. [50]
Athletes Rock the Vote is a program developed by Rock the Vote to partner with sports organizations and individual players to raise awareness and promote voter registration education. This has been accomplished through Public Service Announcements, [51] [52] apparel with graphics messaging, and club and stadium messaging, as well as social media posting. [53] [54]
Partners include the Golden State Warriors, [53] NFL, [55] [56] [57] WNBPA, [58] [59] [60] Pittsburgh Steelers, [61] [62] Los Angeles Rams, [63] Atlanta Falcons, [64] [65] [66] Minnesota Vikings, [67] Baltimore Ravens, [68] New England Patriots, [69] [70] San Francisco 49ers, [71] [72] Chicago Sky, [73] [60] Los Angeles Lakers, [74] [75] WNBA, [59] [76] and Pac-12 Conference. [77]
Hoopers Vote and Kickoff The Vote initiatives were designed to rally professional basketball and football communities to take action for the 2020 US elections. [54] [78] [79] [80]
This is a partial list of celebrities who have appeared in public service announcements for Rock the Vote.
Compulsory voting, also called universal civic duty voting or mandatory voting, is the requirement that registered voters participate in an election. As of January 2023, 21 countries have compulsory voting laws. Law enforcement in those countries varies considerably and the penalty for not casting a ballot without a proper justification ranges from severe to non-existent.
In political science, voter fatigue is a cause of voter abstention which result from the electorates of representative democracies being asked to vote often, on too many issues or without easy access to relevant information. Voter fatigue can be a symptom of efforts that make voting more difficult that some describe as voter suppression, which changes the voting rules and environment in such a way that turnout decreases as the cost of voting increases.
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford University political scientists Adam Bonica and Michael McFaul, there is a consensus among political scientists that "democracies perform better when more people vote."
"Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the eligible voter pool. GOTV efforts typically attempt to register voters, then get them to vote, by absentee ballot, early voting or election day voting. GOTV is generally not required for elections when there are effective compulsory voting systems in place, other than perhaps to register first time voters.
In electoral systems, voter registration is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote.
Voter suppression are tactics used to discourage or prevent specific groups of people from voting or registering to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters through persuasion and organization, activating otherwise inactive voters, or registering new supporters. Voter suppression, instead, attempts to gain an advantage by reducing the turnout of certain voters. Suppression is an anti-democratic tactic associated with authoritarianism.
The youth vote in the United States is the cohort of 18–24 year-olds as a voting demographic, though some scholars define youth voting as voters under 30. Many policy areas specifically affect the youth of the United States, such as education issues and the juvenile justice system; however, young people also care about issues that affect the population as a whole, such as national debt and war.
All U.S. states and territories, except North Dakota, require voter registration by an eligible citizens before they can vote in federal, state and local elections. In North Dakota, cities in the state may register voters for city elections, and in other cases voters must provide identification and proof of entitlement to vote at the polling place before being permitted to vote. Voter registration takes place at the county level in many states or at the municipal level in several states. Many states set cutoff dates for registration or to update details, ranging from two to four weeks before an election, while 25 states and Washington, D.C. have same-day voter registration, which enables eligible citizens to register or update their registration on the same day they cast their vote. In states that permit early voting, and have voter registration, the prospective voter must be registered before casting a vote.
HeadCount is a national nonprofit organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy in the United States. It is one of the largest voter registration organizations, having registered over 1.2 million voters since launching in 2004. HeadCount started off registering voters at concerts before expanding to sporting events, community events and online.
Apathy is Boring is a Canadian, non-partisan, youth-led charitable organization that supports and educates youth to be active and contributing citizens in Canada's democracy.
In political science, political apathy is a lack of interest or apathy towards politics. This includes voter apathy, information apathy and lack of interest in elections, political events, public meetings, and voting.
The Voter Participation Center (VPC) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to increase voter registration among young people, people of color, and unmarried women, a group it calls "The New American Majority." Its sister organization, the Center for Voter Information, is a 501(c)(4) organization that conducts get-out-the-vote campaigns. VPC runs a large direct mail program, sending voter registration materials to targeted voters. It also produces research material on demographic and voting trends. Between 2004 and 2020, they registered more than 4 million voters. Some election officials and campaigns have contested the group's methods of voter registration and voter turnout. ProPublica reported that VPC's 501(c)(4) sister organization, Center for Voter Information, has "ties to Democrats" and that election officials said that "a flood of mailers" from them "contained mistakes and confused voters at a time when states are racing to expand vote by mail." Election officials said they wished it would stop.
Voter turnout in US elections is the total number of votes cast by the voting age population (VAP), or more recently, the voting eligible population (VEP), divided by the entire voting eligible population. It is usually displayed as a percentage, showing which percentage of eligible voters actually voted.
Vote.org, formerly Long Distance Voter, is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is based in the United States. It provides online voter guides for every state, including voter registration forms, absentee ballot applications, and information on deadlines, directions, and ID and residency requirements. The organization is best known for large-scale voter registration programs, registering 4 million voters in the 2020 election cycle alone.
Matthew Segal is an American entrepreneur and media executive who co-founded ATTN:, a social video publisher and entertainment studio with a mission to convey important topics through entertainment. The company was acquired by Blackstone's Candle Media for a reported 150 million dollars. Segal previously co-founded OurTime.org, a national voter empowerment network for young Americans.
Voto Latino is a dual 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, founded in 2004. The organization's primary aim is to encourage young Hispanic and Latino voters to register to vote and become more politically involved. The organization was co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Phil Colón. The current president and CEO is María Teresa Kumar.
VoteRiders is an American non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to ensure that all U.S. citizens over 18 years old are able to exercise their right to vote. One of its main focuses is assisting citizens who want to secure their voter ID, and VoteRiders collaborates with other organizations in these efforts.
Black Voters Matter (BVM) is an American 501(c)(4) voting rights and community empowerment organization. BVM's stated purpose is "to increase power in our communities" by focusing on voter registration, getting out the vote, independent election-related expenditures, and organizational development & training for other grassroots groups. Founded by activists LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright in 2016, BVM was involved in the election of United States Senator Doug Jones of Alabama in 2017, the 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia and the 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia.
The Cost of Voting Index measures and ranks how difficult it is to vote in each state in the United States, focusing on voter registration and voting rules. The index also has rankings for every two years since 1996. The states ranked as being easier to vote also tend to have higher voter turnout.
Vote Early Day is a movement by a coalition of nonprofits and businesses which encourages voters to use early ballots and designates October 24 as the official “Vote Early Day”. MTV and over 65 partners introduced “Vote Early Day” with the goal to become a new U.S. national civic holiday. Vote Early Day is meant to encourage eligible United States citizens to vote early. The effort also intends to assist people, particularly young voters, to stay informed on what their state's laws are related to early voting.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)