The initiative aims to use the power of music to amplify voter turnout on Tuesday 5 November 2024
Cellist Mike Block’s non-profit organisation Play for the Vote is inviting musicians to sign up to perform at polling locations across the US on Election Day.
The aim of the organisation is ’to make voting a more positive experience for everyone, using the power of music to build community and amplify voter turnout.’
Play for the Vote is looking for musicians of all ages, backgrounds and styles to perform for voters at peak voting times.
Musicians can sign up to be included on the list of performers. The Play for the Vote team will then help to select ideal time slots to perform at the chosen polling location.
Play for the Vote is a non-partisan initiative that began in 2020. It has successfully mobilised 1,500 musicians to perform at 700 polling locations throughout the US. Its goal is to more than double its previous efforts, with the aim to recruit and organise 5,000 musicians to perform at 2,200 polling locations.
According to the Pew Research Center, 70 per cent of US adult citizens who were eligible to participate in all three elections between 2018 and 2022 voted in at least one of them, with about half that share (37 per cent) voting in all three.
About two-thirds (66 per cent) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election – the highest rate for any national election since 1900 – and up from 59 per cent turnout for the 2016 presidential election.
Musicians can find out more and sign up here.
Read: Analysis October 2024: The state of UK national Music Hubs
Listen: The Strad Podcast #88: Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop with cellist Mike Block
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