DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE: OCTOBER 26, 2020
Make Yourself Heard Loud and Vote is a project we initiated in 2018 to encourage high school and college-aged youth to register to vote in Washington State before the October deadline. This is a non-partisan effort to inspire young people to exercise their right to vote.
History shows that ever since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972, youth have been under represented at the polls. However, this is starting to change. The Census found that 36 percent of citizens ages 18-29 reported voting in last year’s midterm elections, jumping 16 percentage points since 2014 (when turnout was 20 percent) and easily surpassing any midterm election since the 1980s. Young people have the opportunity to make a difference by exercising their right to vote.
2018 Election
To drive youth voter participation in the 2018 midterm elections, we took our musical message directly to students via a series of performances on the back of a flatbed truck at local high schools and colleges. The results were impressive. Make your Voice Heard Loud and Vote helped register more than 3,000 new voters during the tour which had bipartisan support from Senator Lisa Wellman (Democrat) and Kim Wyman (Republican) along with sponsorship from Washington Bus, APACE, the King County Department of Elections and, a sizable grant from the League of Women Voters.
make your voice heard loud and vote 2020
Since schools are now all online, the plan is to reach over 500,000 students in the State of Washington through online streaming shows and presentations, online ads and PSAs and a PSA campaign through FM radio stations and SPOTIFY across the state of WA and a livestreamed 2-night concert: Make your Voice Heard Loud and Vote Fest.
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KING YOUNGBLOOD REGISTERS MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE TO VOTE DURING TOUR OF LOCAL SCHOOLS AND RELEASES MUSICAL MESSAGE TO ENCOURAGE YOUTH TO VOTE
Seattle alt-rock band, King Youngblood (formerly Gypsy Temple) releases lyrics, chords and video for “Make your Voice Heard Loud and Vote” and asks fans to create their own version to mobilize the youth vote
SEATTLE WA | November 2, 2018 – As King youngblood, an up-and-coming alt-rock band in Seattle wraps up their Make Your Voice Heard Loud Tour, a series of performances on the back of a flatbed truck at local high schools and colleges, the band has released a musical message to encourage youth to vote.
Over the past month, King youngblood has played at high schools and community colleges across Washington including at Burlington-Edison HS, Newport HS, Shorecrest HS, Mount Si HS, Eastlake HS, Bellevue HS and Shoreline Community College while volunteers helped students, parents and teachers register to vote and then encouraged them to mail in their ballots.
Tour organizers estimate that more than 3,000 people registered to vote during the tour which had bipartisan support from Senator Lisa Wellman (Democrat) and Kim Wyman (Republican) along with sponsorship from Washington Bus, APACE, the King County Department of Elections and, a sizable grant from the League of Women Voters.
The final performance is scheduled for 12 pm on Monday, November 5th at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, giving elected officials and candidates a chance to join in the pre-election excitement.
“This tour is incredibly important to me,” said 19-year old, Cameron Lavi-Jones who founded King youngblood. “Young people get to see other young people making a difference and this gives them the confidence that they have the knowledge and skills to make a difference too,” he said. Lavi-Jones pointed out that with only 20 to 22 percent of registered youth voters actually voting, this campaign is equally about encouraging young voters to commit to mailing their ballots in by November 6th.
“Years or months down the line, regardless of the outcome of the election, everyone who has been part of this tour will know that we at least did something. We made an effort and we woke some people up.”