DJs at the Polls, a Philadelphia-based nonpartisan nonprofit, has a new approach to increasing voter turnout amongst minority populations: music.
“People riding by who live in the neighborhood are like, ‘Yo, what’s going on? Oh, it’s voting, let me go vote. Also, let me check out the DJ,’” says Anton Moore, a hip-hop radio DJ veteran who started the effort in 2009. “And the best thing about it is that the DJs are like your culture creators. They’re at your barbecues, your baby showers, your family reunions. So everyone knows them. So being able to get them from the neighborhood where people know them, it pulls out [those] demographics.”
Through the organization, 3,000 DJs will be stationed at polling locations across 24 states, with a specific focus on states with voter turnout challenges. The initiative specifically targets states with large “low-propensity” voters, those who are registered to vote, but don’t necessarily vote in every election. This year, states like Texas, Alaska and Iowa made the cut…