Civic Nation Launches #VoteTogether With 140 Partners And More Than 500 Celebrations To Change The Culture Of Voting

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Launch includes partnership with MTV to encourage individuals to host #VoteTogether events in their community and apply for a chance to win a $1,000 grant

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Civic Nation

Sep 05, 2018, 11:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, #VoteTogether, an initiative of Civic Nation, is launching a national campaign aimed at increasing voter participation in the 2018 elections by making involvement in the democratic process fun and inclusive. At thousands of nonpartisan events hosted at and near polling places across the country, #VoteTogether partners will bring together families, friends and neighbors in celebration of civic engagement and the act of voting. #VoteTogether events—including block parties, BBQs, and parades – will take place during early voting and on Election Day. The program is launching in partnership with 140 state and local organizations, several corporate partners, and with 500 events committed.

#VoteTogether is also encouraging individuals to be part of the movement by hosting celebrations in their community. As part of today's announcement, #VoteTogether is teaming up with MTV's +1 the Vote campaign to award grants of up to $1,000 to 50 #VoteTogether event hosts across the country. The grants – which will be awarded one per state – will go toward event costs like refreshments, entertainment, and decorations. To host an event and apply for a grant, visit https://votetogetherusa.org.

"#VoteTogether aims to inspire communities to make voting a time of togetherness," said Angie Jean-Marie, Director of #VoteTogether. "We believe that shifting the culture of voting to make it a fun and positive shared experience will build civic pride and improve voter participation."

#VoteTogether is also unveiling an event guide and other website resources including downloadable, ready-to-print party decorations, invitations, door hangers, and more. In the coming weeks, #VoteTogether will add an interactive map to its website, allowing users to find nearby #VoteTogether celebrations and a store where event hosts can purchase party kits for their celebrations.

In addition to MTV, the program is launching with the support of partners, including: This Bar Saves Lives which is providing in-kind donations to events; Florida Civic Engagement Table, Virginia Civic Engagement Table, Mile 22, and Civic TN which are state partners; All Americans Vote, Students Learn Students Vote, ALL IN, United State of Women, Creative Artists Agency, Tumblr, Hillel International, DoSomething.org, and When We All Vote which are national partners; In Good Co., Blue Ocean, and the Creative Alliance for pro-bono branding and marketing; Phenomenon and Daughter & Sons for film and video production; and Collab, Portal A, and Socialyte for influencer engagement.

#VoteTogether's campaign to make voting more celebratory is based on research conducted in 2016 and 2017 by Civic Nation and Columbia University political science professor, Donald P. Green. The studies showed that community celebrations positively impacted voter participation between one and four percentage points. These results, along with the feedback from participating organizations, indicate that voting celebrations are a useful tool to increase democratic participation.

ABOUT #VOTETOGETHER
An initiative of Civic Nation, #VoteTogether aims to increase voter participation by making voting fun and inclusive. With a coalition of national, state, and local partners, #VoteTogether is helping to organize thousands of non-partisan, family-friendly celebrations at and near polling locations across the country during early vote and on Election Day. Learn more at: https://votetogetherusa.org/.

ABOUT CIVIC NATION
Civic Nation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing some of our nation's most pressing challenges through organizing, engagement and public awareness. It does this by working in partnership with the Creative Alliance which is a collaborative of 83 creative companies that do pro bono work for Civic Nation to turn ideas into action.

ABOUT MTV'S "+1 THE VOTE" CAMPAIGN
+1 the Vote is MTV's first-ever midterm campaign, which gives young people the tools to invite a friend to vote with them on Election Day. The campaign includes a first-of-its-kind digital experience which allows young people to register to vote, identify which of their friends aren't registered to vote, and then encourage those friends to register. Additionally, MTV will encourage its audience to #VoteTogether by supercharging youth participation with more than 1,000 parties and events at the polls across all 50 states.

SOURCE Civic Nation