Michelle Obama, along with Tom Hanks, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw, are launching a new bi-partisan effort to get people registered to vote in the mid-term elections.
The newly designed website for the initiative helps people register online and connects them to volunteer opportunities and special events in their communities.
In my family, voting was a sacred responsibility, one which we never took for granted. I’m excited to be a part of @WhenWeAllVote to inspire and empower all eligible voters to make their voices heard. #WhenWeAllVote, we can make history. https://t.co/cBTTn9Q5Lf https://t.co/6d5UT4gg9k
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) July 19, 2018
What happens #WhenWeAllVote? We prove America is Free, of the People, by the People, for the People. Is Freedom important to you? Is Democracy? Is the future of America? https://t.co/kbq7G8eYxC. Hanx!!!
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) July 19, 2018
Hey, friends! I’m joining @MichelleObama, @tomhanks, @Lin_Manuel, @JanelleMonae, @CP3 &@TheTimMcGraw to make sure every American understands the rights and
responsibilities we all share in shaping our democracy. That means: VOTING!
Join us: https://t.co/JRfi1eF5d9 https://t.co/sLwsYbTOXf— Faith Hill (@FaithHill) July 19, 2018
Hey, friends! I’m joining @MichelleObama, @tomhanks, @Lin_Manuel, @JanelleMonae, @CP3,@TheTimMcGraw & @FaithHill to make sure every American understands the rights and
responsibilities we all share in shaping our democracy. That means: VOTING!
Join us: https://t.co/Quhnrdxx4y pic.twitter.com/9eP7DmbDvT— COMMON (@common) July 19, 2018
A recent Pew study found that 21% of all eligible voters in America are not registered to vote, yet 43 percent of the unregistered and 59 percent of rare or nonvoters say they care a good deal who wins the presidential election.
Voter turnout is also an issue – in fact only a little more than half of registered voters turned out for the 2016 election.
We’ve had other voter initiatives before – like “Get Out the Vote” and “Rock the Vote.” Joss Whedon even made a PSA for Save the Day with the Avengers (and some other celebrities) to try to drive people to the polls in 2016.
So what makes Michelle Obama’s any different than the aforementioned campaigns? Will it really work? It seems like people aren’t all that motivated to go to the polls when celebrities tell them they need to vote, yet celebrities keep on trying.
What seems to be missing though is a campaign to educate voters – it’s very important to also know why you are voting a certain way and to be informed about the issues.Many voters simply aren’t and trying to encourage uninformed people to register is kind of irresponsible.
So kudos to people for trying, but maybe take it a bit further than registration and start advocating for informed voting as well.