With the 2024 presidential election less than three weeks away, voters across the nation are busy checking their registration status, getting ready to mail in their ballots, and, in some states, already lining up at the polls. Of course, the first step to preserving democracy is registering to vote—and that’s where HeadCount (and late night) comes in.
Founded in 2004, HeadCount aims to help people—especially young people—register to vote and stay engaged in democracy. Since its inception, the nonpartisan organization has registered approximately 1.5 million voters, including 375,000 voters in this election cycle alone. They’ve partnered with countless artists and celebrities over the past two decades, including the Grateful Dead, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles, to name a few.
While musicians with huge fan bases can certainly harness their influence to help drive voter engagement—405,999 users visited vote.gov the day after Taylor Swift’s Instagram endorsement of Kamala Harris—HeadCount believes that late-night television can play just as crucial a role in getting out the vote.
Andy Bernstein, HeadCount’s co-founder and former executive director, told LateNighter that the nonprofit and late-night hosts have a “shared desire to use [their] platforms to push for civic engagement.”
“The philosophy behind the organization has always been that we meet voters where they already are,” Bernstein explained. “So that means operating at the nexus of pop culture and civic engagement to drive voter registration and participation, particularly among young people.”
Over the years, HeadCount has collaborated with programs like Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Daily Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
In June, The Daily Show announced that it was partnering with HeadCount (along with multiple animal rescue groups across the nation) on a new initiative, InDogCision 2024: Rescuing Democracy, to host joint voter registration/pet adoption events. One Chicago event in August alone resulted in more than 250 new voter registrations.
LateNighter spoke with Bernstein and HeadCount’s senior director of artist relations Yeji Cha-Beach—who previously spent more than 10 years working as a music associate producer on Late Night with Seth Meyers—about their partnerships with late-night shows, what goes into planning a huge campaign like InDogCision, and why late night still plays an important role in driving youth voter registration in 2024.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
LateNighter: When HeadCount partners with a late-night show like The Tonight Show or Late Night, what does that collaboration process typically involve?
Andy Bernstein: HeadCount has built strong relationships with the production teams over the years. Sometimes [the shows] reach out to HeadCount’s artist relations team, especially around key moments such as National Voter Registration Day, but we also initiate partnerships depending on our goals. The timeline depends on the scope of the project. Sometimes we can pull things together in a few weeks; other times, it takes months of planning.
We want to deliver the best activations for the voters and meet them where they are within the spectrum of pop culture and entertainment. That requires an understanding of current media trends and culture. Once we align on a creative concept, we provide elements like QR codes, text codes, basic calls to action, and landing pages for each show. Their teams then tweak it to bring some levity and make sure it’s in the voice of the talent.
Why do you think late-night shows are an important vehicle for getting people—especially young people—to register to vote?
Bernstein: Get Out The Vote efforts through late-night shows are particularly important to HeadCount because millions tune in to watch these shows weekly. Late-night show hosts often discuss current events, and it’s fitting for them to remind their audiences to remain civically engaged. In my opinion, late-night shows have also been ahead of the curve on using digital platforms to reach younger audiences—far more so than traditional news programs.
Yeji Cha-Beach: HeadCount’s late-night show partnerships are one of the things that make us different from other Get Out The Vote organizations. These partnerships are important, because 1) not many other organizations participate in late-night show partnerships, and 2) it’s a fun, unconventional way to remind Americans to be civically engaged. During the week in which HeadCount collaborated with Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon for National Voter Registration Day, HeadCount had over 55,000 people register to vote.
One of your recent collaborations was with The Daily Show for their “InDogCision 2024” voter registration/pet adoption events. Can you tell me more about this partnership and how it came about?
Bernstein: We’ve worked with The Daily Show in various capacities for over a decade. It started when Jon Stewart snapped a photo holding our “Register to Vote” clipboard and posted it on their social media accounts on National Voter Registration Day. Some of their correspondents did the same thing, including John Oliver and Wyatt Cenac. Over the years, we’ve registered thousands of voters through our work with The Daily Show. It’s been a pleasure to work with the team.
Cha-Beach: This initiative was handled by my amazing HeadCount colleagues before I joined, but InDogCision 2024 was a collaboration with The Daily Show and a local Chicago animal shelter called PAWS Chicago. Together at the Chicago Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays game, we offered pet adoption and voter registration opportunities, free giveaways, doggie swag, photos and The Daily Show’s News Team meet-and-greets. Attendees also had the opportunity to enter sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to a live The Daily Show taping in New York by encouraging their friends to vote. A ton of talent, influencers, TDS correspondents, [and] celebrity dogs came together to promote these events. It was a huge success.
Yeji, prior to joining HeadCount this year, you produced music for Late Night with Seth Meyers. How has your background in late night helped you succeed in your work at HeadCount?
Cha-Beach: As the Music Associate Producer, I was producing musical guests and house band sit-in guests on Late Night for over 10 years. My job exposed me to incredibly diverse talent and allowed me to have a deep understanding of how music becomes a connecting point at all levels. HeadCount has done a remarkable job over the last 20 years reaching young voters by partnering with a diverse cast of talent in the entertainment/pop culture space. It’s all about meeting young voters where they are through the power of their favorite artists.
HeadCount has been around since 2004—before social media and streaming had really taken off. Has the organization’s approach to partnering with late-night shows changed at all over the years? Are there any unique challenges for this election in particular?
Bernstein: HeadCount’s collaboration with late-night shows started when social media was already established, so [the partnerships] haven’t necessarily evolved toward social media. With late-night talent, we usually ask for a mention on their show, usually timed with National Voter Registration Day, or a picture of them holding our “Register to Vote Now” clipboards, which serves as a direct call to action when posted on their social media. The challenge now is that social media can get very crowded and cluttered, and the algorithms can be less friendly to this sort of content. So you have to get even more creative to stand out from the pack.
Cha-Beach: While TV still plays a big role, social media and digital content are critical to amplifying our message. We now extend and promote our late-night partnerships online through various social platforms. It’s been incredible to see the ripple effects of our efforts.
If you’re not registered to vote, there’s still time. Visit HeadCount today.