Rock the Vote

February is almost over. The South Carolina Primary is on Saturday and Super Tuesday is next week. We've been working to reach, empower and energize young leaders across the country who will be instrumental to organizing their peers for turnout in 2020.

Mobilizing Sorority and Fraternity Leadership Across the Country

Rock the Vote Board Member DeRay Mckesson rallied over 2,500 sorority and fraternity members and future leaders at the joint gathering of the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values Conference and the National Black Greek Leadership Conference.

As the conference keynote, DeRay spoke on the importance of economic and racial justice, and voting and political power. The conference is the largest, most diverse gathering of fraternal stakeholders in the country.

Activating Young Retail Workers

Major youth brand Zumiez invited Rock the Vote President Carolyn DeWitt along with Shepard Fairey of Obey, Voto Latino President María Teresa Kumar, Daniel Kasidi of Rastaclat, and Amplifier Art President Aaron Huey to talk about the importance of creativity in youth activism and participation in the 2020 Election. The discussion took place at their annual gathering of Zumiez’s top sales employees from across the country and industry representatives.

At the event, Carolyn learned of a self-organized group of skateboard enthusiasts who launched Skaters Vote to leverage their passion for skateboarding culture and use Rock the Vote’s civic technology to recruit other skaters to get involved and participate in our democracy.

Uplifting and Shaping the Narrative of Youth Voting

Rock the Vote kicked off a reporter call series to highlight and shape the narrative of the youth vote throughout the 2020 election year. The initial call featured Rock the Vote and our friends at The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University and laid the groundwork for what press should look for with regard to the youth vote in early primary states. These calls will continue to provide a platform to help ensure youth voting is a consistent and positive message and to uplift youth voices and the organizations working to mobilize this generation.

Check out some of the great news stories from our initial call:

Be sure to check your inbox in the coming days for some exciting news about enhanced resources and tools that will be critical to empowering millions of young people to become informed voters.

More to come soon. Back to work for now!

Sincerely,

Carolyn DeWitt

PS: If you’re interested in making a lasting impact on our democracy this year, consider becoming a monthly supporter. Your contributions allow us to continue to update our tools and resources and provide the millions of young people who access our website with updated and reliable information about their vote. Our goal is to keep young voters informed, and prepared to confidently cast their ballot this Election Day.