Rock the Vote
Many people who have the right to vote aren’t registered, or are registered and just don’t know where orwhen to go to vote. This includes teens that are old enough to vote but don’t have information about how, when or where but whose voices should be heard in the community. Help others exercise their civic duties!
Rock the Vote is a non-partisan political organization that was started almost 30 years ago by music executives in an effort to engage more young people (ages 18-25) in the political process. Rock the Vote was a pioneer in using pop culture, art, music and technology to motivate young people to participate in elections and, more generally, get involved in the political process. They’ve been incredibly successful in their efforts:
“We’ve registered and turned out millions of young voters on campuses, in communities, and online. We’ve successfully fought for — and defended — voting rights and increased access to democracy. We’ve raised awareness and campaigned for issues that impact the lives of young people. We’ve pioneered innovative ways to make registration and voting work for our generation, and built open-source technology to empower other organizations, too.”
How do I get started? Rock the Vote can help you host an event in your school or community and has lots of other resources to help young people motivate their peers to take action. To get started:
First, download our helpful PDF on how to launch your Done-in-a-Day project; and
Next, check out the Rock the Vote website for more information.
How do I expand this narrative arc?
Convene a Youth Town Hall in your community to start a dialogue between young people and community leaders.
Launch a Speaker’s Corner at your school to provide a forum for discussion and debate of issues that are important to fellow students.
Consider one of the many summer programs run by The New York Times Summer Academy, including Whistleblower Journalism in D.C.
HOT TIP: This is an amazing supplemental extracurricular for a teen who is interested in student government, politics and policy. But remember that you won’t get much mileage from a one-off. Make sure to combine this project with another school or community-based initiative (for example, Youth Town Hall).