SMS to increase voter turn out

From TTC: Mobile Advocacy Toolkit Working Meeting wiki

In 2004, as part of a wider drive to increase voter turnout among youth, Rock The Vote, a non-profit, non-partisan US-based organisation, used text and instant messaging as a component of their outreach programme. According to their website:

Rock the Vote engages youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. From actors to musicians, comedians to athletes, Rock the Vote harnesses cutting-edge trends and pop culture to make political participation cool

Voter registration is regarded as a new frontier for mobile technology, although the success of Rock The Vote which successfully reached out over 100,000 young people through their mobiles highlights its future potential. Once subscribed, users received a range of text alerts, polls and other relevant voter information direct to their phones. Just under 10% of these went on to complete the voter registration process.