#hellavotes
We created a place for non-partisan voter education and motivated Black Gen Z’ers to vote.
September 2020
Summary
Our goal: to empower the Black Gen Z population to mobilize in huge numbers for the November Election.
Brand Identity
Social Campaign
Web Platform
Production
Policy Research
Bay Area, California
September 2020
Context
4.4 million 2012 Obama voters stayed home in 2016 — more than a third of them black.
The 2016 presidental election came down to about 78,000 votes in three states. It’s hard not to wonder, then, how the decrease in turnout among Black voters might have affected the outcome.
We sought to usher in change like 2008.
Dispelling the myth that young people never vote, in 2008, Millennials cast ballots in larger numbers than young voters had in any recent presidential election.
About 23 million young people, an increase of 3.4 million over 2004, accounted for almost two-thirds of the overall 5.4 million increase in voter turnout.
We wanted to mobilize a new generation.
Reaching Gen Z
Members of Gen Z — loosely, people born from 1995 to 2010—are true digital natives: from earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems.
Gen Z also sees the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement as the two most impactful events of their lifetimes.
Gen Z’ers are less optimistic about the future, but increasingly believe they can shape it.
The HellaVotes Initiative reached Black Gen Zers though non-partisan education, resources, cultural events and strategic partnerships.
We launched a series of social media campaigns to motivate Black Gen Zers to get to the polls.
HellaVotes achieved over 50K impressions and 79.6% growth in audience over the life of the campaign.
Cities reflected in the engagement included Houston, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tulsa, Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.
Credits
Strategy, Policy Resources & Partnerships Working Group:
Community Marketing & Events:
Design & Tech: