Later, they hired Jodi Uttal and then Steve Barr, a campaign worker and political fundraiser, who became co-founders for their contribution to Rock the Vote.

Initially, Rock the Vote delivered its voter registration message by staffing tents at music festivals and concerts.

[7][8] In 1991, their message was broadcast on MTV with Madonna's Rock the Vote Public Service Announcements (PSA) where she literally wrapped herself in the American flag.

The law requires state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or public assistance.

In 2009, Rock the Vote ran a campaign encouraging people to refuse to have sex with those who opposed what they regarded as a reform of American health care.

The message included the words "Selective Service System" and read "You are hereby ordered for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States, and to report to a polling place near you" on November 2 (Election Day).

Turnout was three percentage points higher among 18- to 19-year-olds in these sample areas than in the control group covered by other similar small cable systems; there was less effect above age 22.

[22] In November 2012 and 2013 Rock the Vote experimented with Facebook ads to encourage voter turnout by telling people the number of days remaining until the election and which of their friends "liked" the countdown.

[25] The video was also criticized because several of the celebrities who appeared in it, including Lena Dunham, Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne, and Darren Criss, had not voted in the previous midterm election.

[26] The day after the 2016 US presidential election, Rock the Vote President and Executive Director Carolyn DeWitt issued a statement on behalf of the organization expressing disappointment with the election of Donald Trump and Republican Party congressional victories, writing "This is a jarring day for Millennial voters, who voted overwhelmingly for Secretary Clinton and for progressive candidates down the ticket...we woke up this morning with full hearts and piercing focus, not just on the next national election in two short years, but on putting the needs of young Americans, people of color and others feeling under siege, front and center for our new president and the 115th Congress".

[29] High school students in Democracy Classes participate in mobile polls that assess their viewpoints on public policy issues.