2008 Woodie Awards
Celebrities involvement drives young voters
Election 2004 Special Edition
Alyssa Falconer
Issue date: 10/27/04 Section: News
Throughout the 2004 Presidential Election campaign, celebrities have been taking things into their own hands.
They have been using their star power and popularity to encourage people to vote, endorse candidates and have even given speeches during each party's convention.
Everyone from Hollywood to the music world have become involved with the very important upcoming election.
Recently, many celebrities have been encouraging people to get out and vote, whether it's doing a commercial, spreading the word during an interview or on the red carpet.
Some are even starting their own non -rofit organizations in an effort to help educate voters.
"Friends" star Jennifer Aniston stars in a commercial encouraging women to vote. While fellow singer/actress Jennifer Lopez has been seen encouraging the Latin community to let their voice be heard on Election Day, Nov. 2.
As part of the Rock The Vote campaign, MTV has featured special programs about the candidates, social issues affecting young voters and commercials reminding everyone why voting is important.
A couple of weeks ago, the popular family show "7th Heaven" featured an episode specifically showing the importance of voting in the Camden family's lives.
At the very end, the cast was shown reminding people to register to vote and to go to the polls on Election Day.
In a recent episode of reality-based "The Real World: Philadelphia" mogul Sean Combs recruited the housemates to help register people to vote, which is part of his Citizen Change campaign.
According to The Associated Press Combs started the non-profit organization because "he wanted to use unconventional means to register thousands of young, minority and urban voters" who are "overlooked by politicians."
The popular rapper has been helping to get the word out about his cause thanks to the creation of Citizen Change t-shirts, with the slogan" Vote or Die."
The t-shirts themselves have started a trend. Everyone from celebrities and to everyday citizens can be seen wearing the shirts.