Happy Fourth of July to our readers from the US! Whether you have celebrated, or will celebrate, with fireworks, parades, BBQs, or other activities, we wish you a great start into the new week. When people hear Independence Day, there is a high chance that they think of “the land of the free”. For this edition of Bunt and Bold, we will have a look at what it takes to be free in a democracy: exercising your right to vote.
Given this special occasion, we will do so by looking at the voting system in the US and by highlighting a non-profit and non-data collecting organization that wants to encourage gamers to vote: Gamers.Vote.
Word of the Week
Democracy “A political system in which people vote directly on policy issues or through elected officials that represent them.” Source: Open Education Sociology Dictionary
How Voting in the United States Works
Let’s start in the beginning: Understanding how the US voting process works. The election process begins with primary elections and caucuses:
Primaries: Primaries are run by state and local governments. Voting happens through secret ballots. Some states hold “closed” primaries in which only declared party members can participate. In an open primary, all voters can participate, regardless of their party affiliation or lack of affiliation.
Caucuses: Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. They are held at the county, district, or precinct level. In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. At the end, the number of voters in each group determines how many delegates each candidate has won.
If you are not from the United States, the voting process can appear complex and different. If you are not familiar with the US voting process, we recommend you watch this 5:20min video as a primer:
What Does This Have to Do with Video Games?
According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) there are nearly 227 million video-game players in the US. Only 20% are under 18, the legal age to vote. While some of the remaining 80% might not be able to vote for other reasons, like no US citizenship or a felony conviction, gamers make a huge potential target group for voters.
Source: ESA
Almost 15% of registered voters in the US did not vote in 2016 because they thought their vote would not make a difference according to Pew Research Center. In the US, people have to register to vote - and this is where Gamers.Vote comes in.
Interview with Christie St. Martin of Gamers.Vote (among other things)
Can you please introduce yourself for our readers that might not know you?
Hi, I am Christie St. Martin, CEO of Gamers.Vote. I've spent my whole life in the video game space. I am also passionate about how powerful gamers' voices are when they are united towards something they want to see happen that matters to them.
What is Gamers.Vote? Can you share a bit about the vision and mission?
Gamers.Vote is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that encourages and supports the act of participation. Gamers.Vote leads a coalition of various organizations as a unifying brand to make voting a priority.
What made you start Gamers.Vote? Why is it needed and why is it built around the gaming industry?
In 2018, Gamers.Vote activated a new generation of voter-activists through the people and the companies they admire the most. But then in 2020, the 501(c)3 non-profit organization leveled-up with new leadership from the elite ranks of the gaming industry to blanket and motivate the entire community. Those efforts produced 1.2 billion impressions in 4 months and reached 48 million gamers 5-7 times each, featuring 120+ fully produced Gamers.Vote events (some lasting as long as 12 hours) that were distributed on legacy media such as Comcast, NBC, MTV, etc. as well as dominant streaming platforms like Twitch and Facebook Gaming.
Our next quest is to help transform this Minecraft generation from a blunt-force-object of disruption (e.g. GameStop and TikTok takeover of Trump event) into the constructive force they were born to be (“Use the Force, Luke”). We are partnering with the Who’s Who of pro-democracy organizations like FairVote, Common Cause and RepresentUS to change the equation in key states when it comes to Rank Choice Voting, Gerrymandering and Open Primaries by injecting new energy and “impossible-to-ignore” campaigns that can help drive initiatives across the finish line.
How do you want to achieve that?
We are now working to turn up the heat and launch Gamers.News on Twitch and TikTok where we will work with our partners to create a self-sustaining and trusted channel for good information in the gaming community (and beyond) that will serve as an effective firewall against growing misinformation campaigns. From local to federal truth bombs to help gamer/voters know how and where to vote.
How is the organization funded and how are funds distributed?
Volunteer-led and on the search for helpers with their time, vocal, and organizational support. Steve Lipscomb, our founder, funded our ability to launch in 2020 for pre-election capabilities.
What do you consider your biggest success so far and how do you define success for the organization overall?
In 2020, we had 100+ partners and reached 48 million gamers 5-7 times over four months during the last federal election cycle. We had 120+ shows broadcasted for Gamers.Vote with 420+ hours of programming (that's equal to 4 hours of television, all 7 days a week over 4 months). 200+ celebrities & influencers participated in our events, produced content and delivered messages to their audience. You could find Gamers.Vote through our network across 9 social platforms reaching audiences where they are.
What do you think are the biggest obstacles you need to overcome?
I think it's fighting the frustration many voters (or could-be-voters) feel that their vote changes nothing. We are here not only to help prove that your vote does matter but to help get gamers to get active in local and state politics. We want to even help gamers consider running for local office or looking for candidates that represent their interests. Connecting them to our non-partisan partners who can help them find ways to take action. We want to help gamers activate where it matters the most to them. Local and state elections are where it will most impact their lives and so we want to get loud about how powerful this community can be in democracy.
How can people engage or support you and Gamers.Vote? What kind of support do you need?
We need your voice and partnership. We are looking for partners for as simple as social media support to influencers to participate in events to partners who can add things to others events to large scale activations. You can reach out to us through our website at Gamers.Vote - We are ramping up and really help connect all our partners together in a unified voice for participating in democracy.
Gamers.Vote is for everyone. We will have our new streaming kits on our site soon that anyone can use and every little bit helps to raise our collected voices.
If there is one thing you could change about the video games industry with immediate effect, what would it be?
Watching every single of age voter in this country be registered and realize their power and to take credit for their effort with those voting numbers flood in. The old establishments won't see it coming and we are very here for it.
Is there anything you want to share that we did not capture, yet?
We are launching a voting tool very soon. It will help you find who to vote for based on your zip code for gamers.