Last weekend on Hunter Mountain a determined group of HeadCount volunteers enthusiastically worked to inform all attendees about the upcoming elections. Accompanying efforts to register new voters, HeadCount held a raffle that helped raise funds and attain written letters to various congressmen regarding issues such as the Gulf Coast oil spill and local concerns. The prize for the raffle was an autographed Mountain Jam poster. Volunteers also entertained festival guests with a music and rock trivia game-show which allowed a large amount of voters to “Pledge” to vote in the upcoming elections. All game-show players will receive a phone call from the musical artists of their choice while the fortunate winner snagged two three-day passes for next year's festivities in Hunter, NY.
[caption id="attachment_6047" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New voters gather around the HeadCount tent to register"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_6050" align="alignnone" width="199" caption="The lucky game-show winner poses for the camera after winning two three-day passes to next year's Mountain Jam."][/caption]
While obtaining many voter registrations through hard work, volunteers found that many people had previously encountered HeadCount booths or had heard about our efforts and were coming to our tent on their own. These people came to update their political parties or change the address where they currently live. Mountain Jam attendees seemed genuinely impressed by the efforts to inform and register voters even though not at all took the time to “Pledge” or play a quick game. As a whole people were gracious and welcoming to us and other non-profit organizations who filled the Awareness Village tents. Being around the Awareness Village stage proved to be a great spot for finding potential new voters as crowds were drawn to artists like Michael Franti and Zach Deputy. Overall, a weekend full of music and registrations proved successful thanks to Radio Woodstock, Warren Haynes and all the volunteers.