ROCK THE VOTE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIPS IN MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND MUSIC
Rock the Vote, the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States building the political power of young people, today announced it has teamed up with music, technology, media, apparel and finance organizations to help fuel the group’s 2014 campaign to register and turn out young voters. Lyft, MTV, Univision, Pandora, Pearl Jam, Amalgamated Bank, Junk Food Clothing, Earwolf, Gibson Guitars, Video Game Voters Network, Voodoo Music Experience, Participant Media, WordPress.com, Fusion, EXCLUSIVLee, and Nylon Español have joined Rock the Vote to announce their joint efforts to empower Millennials to register to vote and cast their ballots at the polls during the 2014 Midterm election season.
This roster of organizations will help to power Rock the Vote’s 2014 midterm election campaign, shaping the country’s largest online youth registration effort to-date, advocating for policies to make voting easier for a 21st century electorate, and creating an atmosphere of voter engagement and excitement leading up to Election Day.
Rock the Vote, Univision Communications Inc. and the roster of Latino media organizations onboard will enhance collective campaign efforts to reach and register newly eligible young voters to participate in the 2014 midterm elections. For several years, Univision has worked together with NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) to facilitate full Latino participation in the American political process, from civic participation and citizenship to public service.
“Lyft is excited to help Americans exercise their right to vote,” said David Estrada, vice president of policy for Lyft. “Our community regularly speaks to their elected officials at the local, state and federal level, and we’re happy to help keep this conversation going at the polls.”
“We’re proud to team up with Rock the Vote to increase voter turnout, which is historically 15 – 20% lower during mid-term elections,” said Chad Boetcher, EVP of Social Action for Participant Media. “For this election, Participant Media aims to provide tools and resources through its television network Pivot and digital arm, Takepart.com, to help younger people see how voting directly effects the issues they care about at the both the local and national levels.”
“The Video Game Voters Network’s key mission is offering gamers opportunities to become more involved in the election process and add their voices to the important political discussions and decisions of the day,” said Rich Taylor, a spokesperson for the VGVN. “VGVN’s ability to empower gamers to be more politically engaged in local and national government functions will help Rock the Vote drive a larger youth turnout for this fall’s elections.”
“We know the Hispanic vote has made the difference in recent elections, and through this partnership with Rock the Vote and our longstanding partners at NALEO and other community organizations, we aim to further encourage our community to use the power of their vote to make a difference in their lives and our country,” said Roberto Llamas, executive vice president of human resources and community empowerment at Univision Communications Inc.
“Pandora is proud to partner with innovative organizations like Rock the Vote this year as we work together to engage millions of voters for this election,” said Sean Duggan, vice president of advertising sales at Pandora. “Through the passion point of music, we look forward to helping inspire young people and first-time voters to make their voices heard in 2014 and beyond.”
“As a company committed to providing millions of WordPress.com users with freedom of expression through democratizing publishing, we are proud to partner with Rock the Vote,” said Peter Slutsky, Director of Platform Services. “Through this partnership, we will encourage our users to make their voices heard by voting in the upcoming election and to use their own WordPress sites to encourage others to do the same.”
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with a roster of like-minded organizations to promote voting rights and encourage registration across the country,” said Ashley Spillane, president of Rock the Vote. “As an increasing number of states raise their barriers to voting, Rock the Vote is thrilled to be working with these organizations to boost election participation among Millennial and first-time voters.”