HeadCount: Using the power of music to register voters at Electric Forest.

Photo by Ross Field.

HeadCount: Using the power of music to register voters at Electric Forest.

#EF2019

By Ross Field, OCP Correspondent.

ROTHBURY – At the back of the massive Ranch Arena a group of young people can be found running the Electric Forest headquarters of HeadCount, which is a volunteer organization with a mission to use the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy.

Since being founded in 2004 HeadCount has registered over 500,000 people at music festivals and concerts across the United States. HeadCount and its organization of over 20,000 volunteers has a huge task with an estimated 16 million Americans turning 18 between 2016 and 2020.

“The numbers have been changing very dramatically recently,” said Kim Selig, HeadCount’s Field Director. “Last year we registered the most we’ve ever registered in a midterm year. Things are looking up.”

HeadCount is non-partisan, and their mission statement states that their message is not about what party you support or where you land on an issue. It’s that you must speak to be heard.

“We use the national voter registration form,” said Selig. “This really gives us a lot of power in that we are able to register voters in 45 states using this form”.

Hart Welles, one of eight volunteers helping HeadCount at the festival, was hard at work asking festival patrons if they were registered and then registering those who weren’t.

“Our team helped register over 200 people yesterday (Thursday)”, said Welles, “and I broke my own personal record by registering 88 people.”

Welles, a Connecticut native, was on a three-festival run, having started with the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee and then the Firefly Festival in Delaware.

“I am very passionate about voter registration and being a part of the festival scene”, explained Welles, “I have a lot more fun by volunteering with HeadCount because it adds to the whole experience, and I really enjoy the interaction with other people.”

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