Two Interns Rock the Vote

As we get close to the end of Week 2 of the General Election, I'd like to introduce two fabulous new interns who are going to help us register two million voters between now and November.

My name is Alexis Irvin and I am one of the new communications interns this summer at Rock the Vote. I go to University of Maryland and am a senior journalism major with a minor in government and politics. Talking about the election in journalism classes got a little boring this past semester, I decided I wanted to be a part of it. 2008 will be the first presidential election I get to vote in and I am so so SO excited! We are in the midst of making history with this election, which is why I am at Rock the Vote. This presidential election has the possibility for change- and the youth vote could swing it either way. Rock the Vote wants to register 2 million young voters before the election this November and I think we can do it. I'm super excited to be doing something cool this summer and to make a difference!

And from our field intern, Hannah Fishman:

Two days ago, as I wondered around DC (lost, as usual) I came across a simple ad in a bus stop that made me pause in my frantic attempts to figure out which direction was home. "Vote," it said. Naturally, as an intern at Rock the Vote, voting is something that excites me always, and especially now in such an undeniably important election year. So when I saw the sign that said "Vote," I perked up. What is perhaps most exciting about this story is not the simple existence of the ad in a city ripe with politically active Americans, but instead that the sign was posted by McDonalds instead of a political organization. Even McDonalds wants to promote voter registration!

I graduated from the University of Michigan in the end of April, having dedicated most of my time there to building an organization that would ensure that everyone on that campus would be registered to vote. At the end of my senior year, I knew that I wanted to continue doing that work in the real world. Getting people interested in and excited about politics is absolutely one of my biggest passions. The fact that the rest of the country (including McDonalds) now is apparently just as passionate and willing to dedicate energy to getting out the vote is beyond exciting to me. And so, as we move head on into the general election, I am thrilled to get involved in Rock the Vote's amazing national campaign to increase young voter participation. Voting is awesome, and this year our generation is going to prove that they know it.