A Voting Social Media Campaign parodying “The Birds & The Bees Talk” to spread awareness during an Election year.
For this campaign the aim was to bring awareness to the voting process and the many barriers affecting the age group of 18-29 year olds, which many are first time voters. First time voters also have the lowest turnout rate during Presidential elections. With this in mind, I wanted to conceptualize a campaign that connected different generations in the hopes of the previous generation passing down the steps of the voting process to the next one.
OVERVIEW
Poor civics education in public school contribute to low turnout rates for political events. Adolescents are unaware of the process and steps to cast a vote during an election. Information is not easily accessible and attained. There is little to no public funding for a civics education program or curriculum to be introduced into the current public education system.
So there are opportunities to engage and inform about the voting process to first-time voters outside of the public education system. This involves the adolescent’s house-hold. Ideally parents are the other guides next to educators. They have also been through the voting process and have experience with children’s other first experiences. Using “The Birds & The Bees Talk” as a parody to engage in conversation about the voting process helps bring a mutual understanding across multiple generations and ethnicities and coincides with the targeted demographic without having to say too much. The aim is use comedy to make a difficult subject seem less daunting.
Knowing The BArriers
Wide-spread voter fraud is nonexistent. Proponents of voter ID laws claim the laws prevent in-person voter fraud, but, in-person voter fraud in the US is very rare. The Washington Post found only four cases of voter fraud in the 2016 election out of over 165 million ballots cast.
Voter ID laws require unnecessarily strict forms of identification. Voter ID laws differ by state, but most states require a government-issued photo ID with the voter’s current address. Voters must visit a local Department of Motor Vehicles or other government agency with limited hours of operation to obtain IDs. Additionally, most states charge a fee for a government issued photo ID. These provisions hinder low-income workers, elderly, and rural voters from obtaining the required documentation.
Photo ID requirements disenfranchise marginalized communities. Brennen Center for Justice studies show that 11 percent of eligible voters, 21 million individuals, don’t have updated, state-issued photo IDs. This number includes 25 percent of African Americans, 15 percent of those earning less than $35,000, 18 percent of senior citizens, and 20 percent of voters ages 18 to 29. Further, transgender and gender nonconforming individuals are disproportionately harmed by ID requirements because the gender markers on their federal and state documentation may not align, and their photo ID may not match their current gender and/or physical appearance.
Voter ID laws are like a modern-day poll tax. The cost of a photo ID ranges from $5 to $54 depending on the state. Some states discount photo IDs for individuals with disabilities and give seniors photo IDs. An ID fee can be insurmountable for low-income voters that struggle to make ends meet. Furthermore, the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, bans “both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.”
Voter ID laws impact election results. The Wisconsin state senate enacted a voter ID law in April 2016. Research shows that almost 17,000 registered voters in Milwaukee and Madison could not vote because they lacked a photo ID. The margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election in Wisconsin was 23,000 votes.
UNDERSTANDING THE VOTE
EDITS
I went through a few iterations of the creative trying to see what works best as a visual representation for the concept. Trying to find stock images that portray the awkwardness the parent-child has during these situation. I also went through different call-to-actions and taglines to see which fits the concept as well as shows the urgency of the campaign. During a Q&A, it was pointed out the condom is what really ties the idea all together.
ROLL OUT
The Talk campaign was published on October 30th, 2020. It was pushed out on a personal instagram account without any funding for advertising. Released during peak engagement hours on Instagram, the post response was humorous with repost and slight engagement.
