Rock the Vote
A U.S. nonprofit that uses music, popular culture, technology, and civic education to encourage young people to register and vote.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Rock the Vote is a United States nonprofit organization established in 1990 to increase political participation among younger Americans, particularly voters reaching eligibility between the ages of 18 and 24. Its central approach has been to connect voter registration and civic participation with music, entertainment, youth culture, and digital media rather than relying only on conventional political communications. The organization became widely recognized through celebrity-led public service announcements and its early partnership with MTV, which helped place voter registration messages in front of a national youth audience. The organization was created by Virgin Records America co-chair Jeff Ayeroff, together with Virgin-affiliated executives Jordan Harris and Beverly Lund. Jodi Uttal and political organizer and fundraiser Steve Barr subsequently played important formative roles, with Barr often described as a co-founder because of his contribution to the organization’s political and fundraising strategy. In its earliest years, Rock the Vote staffed registration tents at concerts and music festivals. Its visibility grew substantially before the 1990 midterm elections when MTV broadcast public service announcements featuring Madonna, including a widely remembered image of the performer wrapped in an American flag. Barr also testified before Congress in support of legislation intended to make voter registration more accessible. Rock the Vote has combined direct registration assistance with advocacy for structural changes in election administration. It supported the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly known as the Motor Voter law, which required states to provide registration opportunities through driver-license agencies and certain public-assistance offices. In 1996, the organization introduced 1-800-REGISTER, described as the first telephone voter-registration system of its kind, and later that year launched NetVote, an early online voter-registration service. These efforts helped establish the organization as an innovator in using communications technology to reduce practical barriers to registration. Its work has extended beyond registration mechanics. Programs such as Democracy Class use music, video, pop culture, classroom discussion, and mock elections to teach high-school students about elections and government. The organization has also developed partnerships with companies, media brands, sports leagues, teams, athletes, and entertainers. Brands for Democracy has supported registration drives through financial contributions, employee participation, merchandise, in-app registration, transportation, and physical space. Athletes Rock the Vote has used sports broadcasts, stadium messaging, apparel, and social media to reach professional and collegiate sports audiences. Rock the Vote has at times taken positions on policy and institutional questions, including support for a public health insurance option, participation in the Health Care for America NOW! coalition, and criticism of the Electoral College. Those positions have contributed to its reputation as a progressive-aligned organization, while also prompting criticism from conservatives and others who view some of its communications as partisan. The organization’s campaigns have included large-scale voter-registration drives, election reminders, experimental digital and text-message interventions, and culture-driven creative work such as the 2014 “Turn Out For What” video. Its 2004 election campaign generated controversy over the use of a mock military draft notice, although an associated field experiment reported increased turnout among some younger viewers. Rock the Vote remains an active U.S. civic-engagement brand focused on youth registration, voter education, and turnout.
History
Rock the Vote began in 1990 as a response to concerns that young Americans were disengaged from electoral politics. Jeff Ayeroff, then a senior Virgin Records America executive, helped establish the organization with Jordan Harris and Beverly Lund. Jodi Uttal and Steve Barr soon became significant participants in building its operations; Barr brought experience in political campaigning and fundraising and is frequently treated as a co-founder. The group’s initial model was highly visible and event-based: staff members appeared at concerts and music festivals, where they could explain registration procedures and reach audiences that traditional political organizations often struggled to contact. The organization’s national profile expanded through its relationship with MTV. Before the 1990 midterm election, MTV aired Rock the Vote public service announcements, including a Madonna appearance that used deliberately theatrical patriotic imagery. This helped define the organization’s enduring formula: combine recognizable performers and contemporary media with a direct civic message. Rock the Vote also entered the policy arena. Steve Barr testified before Congress in support of registration legislation, and the organization backed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The law, commonly called Motor Voter, required states to offer registration opportunities through driver-license offices and specified public-assistance channels, making registration less dependent on separate political outreach. Technology became another major part of the organization’s history. In 1996, Rock the Vote created 1-800-REGISTER, an early telephone registration system, and later introduced NetVote, an online registration service. These initiatives anticipated the organization’s later use of websites, mobile messaging, social platforms, and digital advertising to reduce friction between political interest and completed registration. The group also expanded from registration into civic learning. Democracy Class was designed for high-school students and used music, video, classroom discussion, and mock elections to explain voting, elections, and governance. On Democracy Day in 2011, teachers in every U.S. state committed to presenting the program in more than 1,100 classrooms. Rock the Vote has periodically linked voting to specific policy debates. It supported the idea of a public health insurance option and joined Health Care for America NOW!, a coalition that supported passage of the Affordable Care Act. In 2009, its health-care messaging included a provocative campaign encouraging people not to have sex with opponents of the organization’s preferred reform. The group’s political positioning has generally been associated with progressive causes, although its core institutional purpose is voter registration and turnout rather than party administration. The 2004 presidential election illustrated both the reach and controversy of Rock the Vote’s methods. It distributed a mock draft notice to more than 600,000 email addresses, using military-style language and a reproduced signature associated with then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The message told recipients to report to a polling place on Election Day. Republican officials criticized the tactic as misleading. Rock the Vote also tested related public service announcements through selected small cable systems; the reported results showed higher turnout among 18- and 19-year-olds in the treatment markets, with little comparable effect among older young adults. Financially, however, the organization was reported to have emerged from the election with roughly $700,000 in debt, and its president resigned in 2005 amid disagreements about its future direction. The organization continued to pursue large registration efforts. Its 2008 youth registration drive was reported to have registered 2.6 million young voters. In the following decade it increasingly tested the effectiveness of digital reminders. Facebook advertisements displaying election countdowns and social information did not produce a statistically meaningful turnout increase in one experiment. Text messages produced a small positive effect when sent the day before an election but a negative effect when sent on Election Day, illustrating the practical importance of timing in turnout communications. In 2014, Rock the Vote released “Turn Out For What,” a parody of the song “Turn Down for What.” The video used celebrities and issue references to make voting culturally salient, but critics argued that the selected topics reflected a left-of-center agenda and noted that some participants had not voted in the preceding midterm election. After the 2016 election, Carolyn DeWitt described the result as particularly jarring for younger voters and pledged continued attention to young people and communities that felt threatened by the new administration. In 2019, she also supported abolishing the Electoral College. Rock the Vote’s later operating model has relied on broad partnerships. Brands for Democracy has involved companies and consumer brands through funding, volunteers, merchandise, registration integrations, transportation, and event space. Athletes Rock the Vote has worked with professional teams, leagues, athletes, and the Pac-12 Conference using public service announcements, apparel, stadium messaging, and social media. Basketball and football initiatives such as Hoopers Vote and Kickoff The Vote were developed around the 2020 elections. Through these activities, Rock the Vote has remained a recognizable U.S. civic-engagement organization whose distinctive assets are its youth focus, entertainment relationships, experimentation with communications technology, and willingness to connect voting with contemporary policy concerns.
- 2020
Sports-focused turnout initiatives
[1]Hoopers Vote and Kickoff The Vote engage basketball and football communities ahead of the U.S. elections.
- 2014
Turn Out For What campaign
[1]A celebrity music-video campaign promotes youth turnout by connecting voting with contemporary policy issues.
- 2011
Democracy Class expands nationwide
[1]Teachers in all 50 states commit to delivering the classroom program in more than 1,100 classrooms.
- 2008
Large youth registration drive
[1]The organization reports registering 2.6 million young voters during the election cycle.
- 2003
America Rocks the Vote forum
[1]Rock the Vote and CNN organize a Democratic presidential candidates forum in Boston.
- 1996
Telephone and online registration services launch
[1]Rock the Vote introduces 1-800-REGISTER and NetVote.
- 1993
Support for the Motor Voter law
[1]The organization supports the National Voter Registration Act, expanding registration access through government service points.
- 1990
Rock the Vote is founded
[1]Jeff Ayeroff and other Virgin Records-affiliated figures establish the organization to encourage young Americans to vote.
- 1990
MTV broadcasts celebrity voter PSAs
[1]Rock the Vote’s message reaches a national youth audience through MTV advertisements featuring Madonna.
Products and positioning
A youth-oriented, culture-led civic engagement organization that presents voting as an accessible and consequential form of participation, using entertainment partnerships, technology, education, and public advocacy to reach young U.S. voters.
Civic technology · 1990
Voter registration services
Rock the Vote provides voter-registration assistance and election information for U.S. residents, using digital tools and outreach partnerships to help eligible young people understand registration requirements and participate in elections.
Civic education · 2011
Democracy Class
A classroom program for high-school students that teaches voting, elections, governance, and public policy through music, video, discussion, and mock elections. The program is designed to make electoral concepts concrete and culturally relevant.
Partnership program
Brands for Democracy
A partnership platform through which companies and consumer brands support voter registration and turnout with funding, volunteers, merchandise, digital integrations, transportation, retail space, and other in-kind contributions.
Sports civic engagement
Athletes Rock the Vote
A program that works with athletes, teams, leagues, and sports conferences to promote registration and voting through public service announcements, social media, apparel, stadium communications, and election-focused initiatives.
Controversies
2014
Turn Out For What criticism
Critics argued that the campaign presented a one-sided, left-leaning set of political issues and questioned whether several participating celebrities had themselves voted in the prior midterm election.
2004
Mock military draft notice controversy
Rock the Vote sent a mock induction notice to more than 600,000 email addresses, using military language and imagery associated with the U.S. defense secretary. Republican officials criticized the message as deceptive or inappropriate campaign communication.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Hoopers Vote and Kickoff The Vote
United States
Sports-centered initiatives mobilized basketball and football players, teams, and fans around registration and participation in the 2020 elections.
- 2014Turn Out For What
United States
A music-video parody used celebrity appearances and references to reproductive rights, marijuana legalization, climate change, LGBT rights, student debt, gun control, and deforestation to motivate youth turnout.
Outcome. The video generated substantial attention but was criticized as disproportionately focused on left-wing issues and for involving some celebrities who had not voted in the previous midterm election.
- 2009Health-care abstinence campaign
United States
A provocative campaign encouraged people to withhold sex from those opposing the organization’s preferred health-care reform.
Outcome. The campaign formed part of Rock the Vote’s support for health-care reform and its participation in Health Care for America NOW!
- 2008Youth Voter Registration Drive
United States
A nationwide effort focused on registering young voters ahead of the 2008 election.
Outcome. Rock the Vote reported 2.6 million young voters registered through the drive.
- 2004Mock Draft Campaign
United States
A military-style email and PSA campaign framed Election Day as a civic summons, using draft-notice imagery to motivate young voters.
Outcome. The approach was criticized by Republican officials; an associated cable-market experiment reported higher turnout among 18- and 19-year-olds in selected treatment markets.
- 1990Madonna Rock the Vote PSAs
United States
Celebrity public service announcements aired on MTV to encourage young Americans to register and vote.
Outcome. The campaign established Rock the Vote’s recognizable entertainment-led communications model.
Brand decisions
2019
Advocate abolishing the Electoral CollegeStrategyBackground
The organization’s leadership argued that the presidential election system should be reconsidered as part of broader democratic reform.
Action taken
Carolyn DeWitt spoke in favor of abolishing the Electoral College.
2013
Test digital turnout remindersStrategyBackground
Rock the Vote evaluated whether personalized social advertising and mobile messages could increase participation among already registered or reachable voters.
Action taken
It tested Facebook countdown advertisements and text-message reminders with randomized comparison groups.
Aftermath
The Facebook intervention showed no turnout increase in the reported experiment; text-message effects varied according to timing.
2009
Join the health-care reform coalitionStrategyBackground
Rock the Vote supported a public health insurance option and sought to connect youth civic engagement with a major national policy debate.
Action taken
It joined Health Care for America NOW! and ran advocacy-oriented messaging supporting health-care reform.
Aftermath
The decision reinforced the organization’s progressive political identity beyond its registration work.
1996
Launch telephone and online registration systemsProduct launchBackground
The organization looked for ways to make registration available beyond physical events and paper forms.
Action taken
Rock the Vote introduced 1-800-REGISTER and NetVote.
Aftermath
These services positioned the organization as an early adopter of digital and remote civic technology.
1993
Support the National Voter Registration ActStrategyBackground
Rock the Vote sought to reduce structural barriers that made voter registration difficult for young and first-time voters.
Action taken
The organization supported the federal Motor Voter legislation, which expanded registration opportunities through driver-license and public-assistance agencies.
Aftermath
The legislation was signed into law and became a major federal mechanism for expanding access to registration.
Recent events
Snoop Dogg, Rock The Vote and 1 VoteCloser launch voter-registration drive[3]
Reported:
Snoop Dogg teamed up with voting advocacy groups Rock The Vote and 1 VoteCloser, as well as social justice initiative OneOpp, to launch the #VoteWithSnoop online voter registration drive.
NFL partners with three organizations on voter engagement[4]
Reported:
The NFL partnered with Rock the Vote, RISE to Vote and I am a voter to support voter registration and civic engagement efforts by NFL players, personnel and fans.
INTERMIX launches voter-registration campaign[5]
Reported:
INTERMIX launched a campaign with Rock the Vote and Sophia Bush to encourage voter registration and women’s voting. Customers could register by text, online, or at INTERMIX boutiques.
Sources5 sources
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