Celebs Urge Census Participation in New Web-Only PSA Short Films

WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading Latino youth civic engagement organization, Voto Latino, builds on its nationally-recognized work driving unprecedented Latino participation in the 2008 presidential election with the launch of its "Be Counted, Represent" census-themed PSAs that will encourage Latino and youth participation in the census.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100317/NY72192 )

The three cinematic shorts, which launch over the course of this week, star actress and co-founder of Voto Latino Rosario Dawson, along with Wilmer Valderrama ("That '70s Show"), Graciela Beltran (Mexican-American recording artist), Jorge Garcia ("Lost"), actor Luis Guzman, Demi Lovato (best known for her multiple Disney franchises) and Ana Ortiz ("Ugly Betty") and were directed by Ross Novie (credits include Executive Producer of Comedy Central's "Secret Girlfriend"). Each short features a call to action, urging Latinos and Americans everywhere be counted.

The "Be Counted" series depict a group of friends and family who, one night at a party, launch into a heated argument about whether to participate in the census. The all-star, ensemble cast from film, television and music, brings complexity to each character working in hints of comedy while intimately revealing the real issues. Shot with multiple HD cameras in a verite-style, these are not your typical 30" PSA spots. Voto Latino's "Get out the Vote"-themed PSA webisodes from the 2008 presidential election were acknowledged with a prestigious Webby Award.

Part of a larger multi-platform initiative, the PSAs are viewable exclusively on www.becountedrepresent.com, a URL set up by Voto Latino, an official US Census partner, to serve as an educational and social hub for census information. The first of the shorts launched Monday, 3/15, to time with when official census forms were mailed to households. The subsequent shorts launch today and Friday this week.

This year's 2010 census is of critical importance to all Americans because it allocates $400 billion in federal funds and determines congressional representation.

CAMPAIGN LINK: www.becountedrepresent.com

DIRECT PSA VIEWING LINK: www.soyvl.com

Founded in 2004, Voto Latino is a non-partisan, nonprofit civic engagement organization. For more information, please visit: www.votolatino.org.

SOURCE Voto Latino

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