Voting PSA Debuts During Super Bowl XLV on AFN - Voter Registration is key message

January 28, 2011 – This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. In the new Department of Defense public service announcement (PSA) the Rifleman’s Creed acts as a call to action – your vote is your most powerful weapon. It will debut on the Armed Forces Network (AFN) during Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011. The message, your vote is your weapon. Register.

Over the past year, the Federal Voting Assistance Program worked with Mullen, a Boston-based advertising and marketing communications agency that serves as agency-of-record for FVAP, to create this poignant PSA to encourage military members and their voting age dependents to register and vote. FVAP produced the PSA to run during the 2012 election cycle. However, FVAP accelerated the ad’s release to make it available for the roll-out of DoD’s annual voter registration drive in January 2011. The spot is posted on the FVAP facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/DoDFVAP.

Voting Assistance Officers (VAO) have a yearly deadline of January 15 to get registration materials to voters, however, the debut of the PSA on AFN during the Superbowl gives VAOs an opportunity to actively engage voters while they are congregated for the game. The deadline has been extended until a week after the Super Bowl to take advantage of the PSA’s release and the conversation and excitement it will engender. VAOs have been encouraged to hold voter registration drives and make materials available in common viewing areas on bases and installations.

January is key for military and overseas voters because it marks the beginning of a new year and due to recent changes to federal and state laws, these voters are now encouraged to complete registration every year. That is the key message of this PSA, register so you can vote.

We Want Your Feedback! If this was helpful to you or if you ran into problems or have questions, please contact FVAP at 1-800-438-8683, DSN (312) 425-1584, or at vote@fvap.gov. With your feedback, we can make Voter Alerts even more useful in the future.