NerdsVote
The right to vote is one of the most important rights we hold as Americans, but still, according to a 2014 U.S. Census Bureau survey, only 21.4% of people who are eligible to vote are registered.* And we know that fewer still actually turn out to vote. Engagement has been steadily increasing over the past few years, and 2020 is being projected to be a record year for voter turnout, but still, there are so many people to reach, and a lot of them are nerds.
Two of NerdsVote’s co-founders JP Karliak and Courtenay Taylor repping their organization on the pink carpet.
Voice actor Courtenay Taylor, who has appeared in blockbuster video game franchises including Fallout, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, Halo, and Destiny, knew that voter registration was woefully below what it could be and wanted to help change this but didn’t know how. Because of her job, she spent most workdays by herself in a recording booth. Then one day, in the spring of 2018, while talking to fellow voice actor Ashly Burch about this over Mexican food and margaritas, it hit her. There was one part of their jobs where they did mix with people. A lot of people. Pop culture conventions. She did some research and discovered that no one was specifically working to talk to those populations about voter registration. Courtenay thought, “Nerds are the very folks that should be voting!” so she decided to do something about it.
She recruited friends and fellow voice actors Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and JP Karliak and founded NerdsVote. They had a friend create their logo with a red, white, and blue text and black “nerd” glasses with white tape on them and started social media accounts. They also partnered with HeadCount, a nonprofit that registers people at events and concerts, and started going to comic and gaming conventions registering voters. They made custom shirts and stickers with their logo to help get the word out.
The original NerdsVote logo.
“I’m all about the swag – I love getting our message out in the world visually, seeing people get excited about our designs and getting messages on social media with photos of them rocking our gear,” says Courtenay. “Our message to vote in every election will never get old, but your tee shirt will so get a good one that will last!”
This caught the attention of some people they call “notable nerds” (like Mandy Moore below) who came on board to help boost the signal. Soon, this little idea became a movement.
Courtenay says both the message and design are important to their cause. “The NerdsVote shirt identifies you to other nerds (We’re like a nerd gang—we just need a secret handshake!) and is a great icebreaker with strangers.” The style and color of shirts are also crucial. “I’m into fashion, and I love having a variety of colors and styles of shirts to offer because, while my mom and one of my goth friends may totally agree with the NerdsVote credo, they are gonna have really different clothing tastes. This way they can share our important message but cater to their own individual looks.”
With this year being a presidential election year, voter registration is more important than ever, so NerdsVote partnered with Custom Ink to create an exclusive 8-bit version of their design and run it as a fundraiser. They are selling a variety of shirts, and for the first time, they’re able to offer hats. The money they raise will go toward their programming at conventions, social media outreach, and getting out the vote nationwide.
“There’s a lot of apathy in this world, but at cons everywhere, we see nerds who care,” Courtenay says. “So many folks we meet are so caring—of each other, of us, of the world around them. Yet there aren’t a ton of young people headed to the polls when that’s exactly who should be there. We want more nerds of every age to vote. We want to stress why it’s important, and we wholeheartedly believe that their voices—those from our nerdy, nurturing community—are the ones we really need right now.”
The limited-edition 8-bit NerdsVote logo.
Check out their fundraiser over on Custom Ink’s fundraising platform and head to NerdsVote.com to learn more about the cause.
Miellyn is the Director of Marketing Content at Custom Ink. Her work has spanned marketing for television networks like TLC and Travel, educational content for Smithsonian and National Geographic, marketing and story for indie video games, essays for publishers including Random House, The Telegraph, and Smart Pop Books, and stories for press outlets like VICE and VH1.
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