Air Traffic Control, a non-profit that connects musicians to social action, put together a report summing up the various "music related political events" in 2008. The report found that 82% of that activity involved HeadCount. The next closest organization, Rock the Vote, was responsible for 7%. We knew we were staging the largest event-based voter registration campaign in the U.S. and that no one was doing nearly as much at concerts. We knew, but were never sure who else knew. So it sure is nice to be recognized.
The Future Majority blog did a nice writeup, with links to the report itself. It also notes that many organization that were active in 2004, Music for America being the largest, didn't make it to 2008. There are many reasons this happened and that we were practically the only game in town when it came to concert-based outreach. But I can break it down pretty simply - quality of volunteers. All the organizations in 2004 (HeadCount included) struggled with volunteer flake-factor. Last year we really emphasized protocol, accountability, and training. Our volunteers responded, and we attracted the sort of solid citizens capable of great responsibility. This report is a testament to all the HeadCount volunteers who truly made this happen.