HEADCOUNT AND UP TO US PARTNER TO MOBILIZE A RECORD NUMBER OF GEN Z VOTERS IN THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
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COLLABORATION WILL REACH GEN Z VOTERS THROUGH CULTURE, GAMIFICATION, AND NON-PARTISAN MESSAGING
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TO EMPOWER TURNOUT ON NOVEMBER 8th
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New York, NY (January 25, 2022) - Today, HeadCount and Up to Us have announced a strategic partnership to educate, register and turn out young voters in 2022. The organizations are collaborating through a shared belief that democracy should represent all Americans. Young voters’ diverse and passionate voices make us a better union and must be heard on Election Day.
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Since 2004, HeadCount has registered over one million voters working with musicians and partners including Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, RuPaul’s DragCon, and MTV. Up to Us, founded in 2020 by Gen Z innovator Conor Sanchez-O’Shea, successfully partnered with social media creators across TikTok and Instagram such as The Cheeky Boyos, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Dillon Francis, Grimes, Madelaine Petsch, and Gigi Hadid, to urge and incentivize their audiences to check their voter registration status and request mail-in ballot applications. Their 2020 voter engagement initiatives mobilized over 40,000 young people to get ready to vote in the last election cycle.
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“HeadCount is thrilled to work with Up to Us, a truly Gen–Z–led social impact non-profit, to grow our combined digital programs and provide innovative and dynamic voter engagement strategies to reach America’s young voters,” said Andy Berstein, Executive Director of HeadCount. “Together, we are poised to make a cultural movement out of turning out to vote in the midterm cycle.”
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The midterm election will not only determine control of the U.S. Congress but also demonstrate the power of young voters in elections. In 2018 and 2020, young voters broke records for electoral participation - with a 79% increase between 2014 and 2018, and a 39% increase between 2016 and 2020. Young voters have been credited with being the deciding factor in both elections. If this trend continues in 2022, we will have achieved a paradigm shift, where high youth voter turnout forces elected officials to prioritize and engage with the unique generational challenges young people face.
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“HeadCount was one of the first organizations to successfully channel the frustration young people across this country have into voting and civic engagement. With their scale, experience, and support, we’re going to make sure the next generation of voters' voices are heard,” said Conor Sanchez-O’Shea, the 25-year old founder and CEO of Up to Us.
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Before 2018, less than a quarter of young eligible voters participated in the midterm elections. If participation rates drop back down, only about half of the 25 million voters under age 30 who voted in the 2020 election will return to the polls this November. This dropoff is tied to a lack of education and understanding about the U.S. Congress and the role of representatives. Barriers to voting are also a reason for low youth voter turnout – and voters face even more barriers this year in light of restrictive voting laws passed in 2021. Most of all, today’s young voters are overwhelmingly unaffiliated with a political party and turned off by the polarized messaging that comes from legislative candidates and campaigns.
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The partnership between HeadCount and Up to Us is designed to leverage the organizations’ shared knowledge and track record of success to engage and mobilize young voters to turn out in 2022. By integrating culture, technology, gamification, non-partisan voter education and responsive Get Out the Vote tactics, HeadCount and Up to Us will register and turn out a record number of young voters. The collaboration will be evident in the forthcoming continuation of HeadCount’s “Good to Vote” campaign, employing proprietary technology designed by Up to Us in the previous election cycle. This technology will also support HeadCount’s ongoing partnership with Global Citizen.
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HeadCount believes in the power of music, culture, and digital media to inspire participation in democracy. A non-profit, nonpartisan organization, HeadCount has registered over one million voters through our work with musicians like Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Dave Matthews Band, JAY-Z, and Dead and Company, and brands like Spotify, Ben & Jerry’s, and GrubHub. Online campaigns have won Clio and Shorty awards, while the organization's 50,000 volunteers can be seen at more than 1,000 live events each year reaching young people where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. HeadCount Founder/Executive Director Andy Bernstein and Chairman Peter Shapiro were recently featured in Billboard’s inaugural ‘Change Agents’ issues for the organization's pro-democracy mission during 2020’s unprecedented election season. For more information visit HeadCount.org.
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Up to Us is a Gen-Z-led non-partisan, non-profit organization mobilizing young adults to take direct, measurable action via digital strategies to create a future they can actually be excited for.
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Up to Us was founded in 2020 by a young former Tesla staffer, Conor Sanchez-O’Shea, and a group of frustrated young leaders in the political, technology, and entertainment industries to mobilize Gen-Z to vote in the presidential election.
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What started as a simple idea quickly evolved into a successful non-profit with more than 30 volunteers under the age of 25. Together, this team of young activists helped inspire the largest youth voter turnout in history and went on to increase vaccination rates among young adults across the country in 2021.
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In their first campaign, Up to Us created a gamified voter registration flow that allowed young voters to check their registration status, register to vote, and request a mail-in ballot in the 2020 election. They mobilized over 40,000 young adults ready to vote in one week from their lead campaign and their approach was 12x cheaper than traditional digital voter registration methods.
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Following the election, Up to Us successfully partnered with some of the largest institutions in the country to increase vaccination rates in young adults by predicting who is most likely to get vaccinated and distributing highly effective persuasive messages to them. More information can be found at www.uptous.org.
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For Press Inquiries, Please Contact:
Jeff Kilgour | The Syndicate | jeff@thesyn.com | 917.678.4420
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The Syndicate 1801 Willow Ave Weehawken, NJ 07086
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