If you are an unregistered voter between the ages of 18 and 29, Ben Rigby wants your number. Rigby, ’95, is the mastermind behind Mobile Voter, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that registers voters using what Rigby calls “the language of the youth”—cell phone-based text messaging.
It works like this: an unregistered voter uses his or her keypad to enter a keyword (often simply “voter”) and sends it as a text message to mobile number 75444. Responding to a series of prompts, the voter then supplies contact information. Mobile Voter sends a completed registration packet, requiring only a signature, date and return postage. It tracks the entire process and even sends a reminder text message near Election Day.
In the past, prospective voters received their keywords from extensive publicity campaigns run by Mobile Voter or its partners. But with the recent launch of the company’s free TxtVoter system, anyone can organize their own voter registration drive. Looks like a good idea just got gr8.
