With midterm elections just a few days away, the overwhelmingly long wait in queues to place your votes and drop your ballots will not be so dull after all.
Joy To The Polls, a non-partisan initiative launched during the 2020 general elections, has scheduled notable bands to entertain voters at polling stations in an effort to encourage citizens in those exhaustingly long queues to go through with depositing their ballots.
On Nov. 8, you can expect musicians such as Questlove, DJs such as DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Diamond Kutz among many other artists to bring a positive spin to voting and boost the energy through music at various polling sites around Philadelphia while citizens perform their civic duty.
Launched at a period when the COVID-19 global pandemic was at its peak and racial tensions were heightened surrounding the Black Lives Matter movements and Anti-Asian attacks, the group created by Nelini Stamp is aimed at making the voting experience a celebration of democracy. The initiative includes organizing pop-up concerts with performances at voting stations by local bands and playlists curated by famous pop stars.
While the primary goal of Joy To The Polls is to entertain voters during the days leading up to the elections and on election day, the initiative also aims to help voters understand the importance of midterm elections in Pennsylvania. This year, citizens will cast their votes for a governor and a senator who also plays the vital role of representing the state in the U.S. Senate.
Past performers who participated in the Joy To The Polls concerts included artists such as John Batiste, Rick Ross, DJ Infamous and more. In addition, notable celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda and former President Barack Obama also engaged with the initiative and curated playlists for 2020 voters to listen to while they waited in polling queues.
At a time of political unrest, inequality in women’s rights, increasing crime rates, an unstable economy and many more superficial issues, your voice and vote matter. So while you perform your duty, expect the bustling support of Joy To The Polls, where safety, music and democracy meet.