Today the California Voter Foundation (CVF) released “The Voting Way”, a nonpartisan song and music video aimed at helping voters successfully cast 2020 ballots during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new song is available at:
calvoter.org/songs or https://youtu.be/laq-gb8qiu4
“Voting is challenging for many people, especially during a pandemic,” said Kim Alexander, who wrote the song’s lyrics and recruited volunteer, professional performers and editors to help record and produce the music video. “We put this song together to give voters a creative and entertaining way to help them prepare to vote with confidence.”
For the first time, starting October 5th, all California voters are being sent vote-by-mail ballots to help voters avoid in-person voting health risks. “The Voting Way” emphasizes casting vote-by-mail ballots and continues a tradition CVF started in 2000 when the Sacramento-based nonprofit released its first “Proposition Song.”
As with past CVF songs, “The Voting Way” uses rhyme and a bit of humor to inform voters about the importance of getting vote-by-mail ballots in on time and remembering to sign their ballot envelope.
CVF’s election songs are inspired by “Schoolhouse Rock,” the 1970’s children’s television series that used music and animation to educate a generation about civics, math and grammar.
The song lyrics are captioned in the video itself to encourage viewers to sing along. For the first time, CVF also produced a Spanish language-captioned version to make the song accessible to a wider audience, available at https://youtu.be/fg3xhpQoks4.
The song provides a number of tips to demystify the voting process, such as reminding voters they don’t have to vote on every contest on the ballot, and that they still have the option to vote in person if they prefer or need to do so.
Unlike past CVF election songs and videos which have been recorded in studios and featured players gathered together performing the song at various venues, this year’s video was produced through the Zoom online meeting platform. Video and audio files were recorded by each performer individually, then edited together using GarageBand and PremierPro.
“We are all learning new skills in the time of Covid,” Alexander remarked. “It was an incredibly inspiring experience to work with performers from across Northern California who volunteered their time and talent for this project.”
News organizations may rebroadcast the video or audio of the song in whole or in part, with attribution to the California Voter Foundation. High-resolution video download access is available upon request.
CVF’s 2020 Presidential Election voter outreach programs are supported by a generous grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies. CVF is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization working to improve the voting process for voters. Learn more at www.calvoter.org.
Contact: Kim Alexander, CVF President
kimalex@calvoter.org, 916-441-2494