Your Maine Polling Place Could Soon Feature a DJ

Over the last few decades, we have seen dozens of organizations and companies step up to, in a (mostly) non-partisan way, promote voting.

If you are in your 30s or 40s, there is a good chance that you remember MTV's Rock The Vote campaign.  Back when the music network was still a thing, they would do specials on the candidates, feature political news in their newsbreaks, and even in-person voter registration events.

More recently, Meta (the Facebook people) has been reminded users of their platforms to get out and vote.

Now, thanks to a DJ in the Philly area, we could soon see DJs spinning music at Maine and New Hampshire polling places.

According to an article on the KJ website, an organization called DJs at the Polls is hiring local DJs to bring some music and energy to polling locations, with the goal of encouraging voter turnout.

If you sign up and get selected, they will provide you with info on the location, the regulations (like how far you need to be from the entrance), a generator, DJs at the Polls SWAG, and a $500 stipend.

a dj mixing a track on a turntable

The group started doing this in Philadelphia in 2012 and has grown considerably.

In 2024, it had more than 3,000 DJs playing at nearly 6,000 polling locations across 11 states.  This year, it’s expanding to 24 states, including Maine for the first time.

The article explains that the idea came from founder Anton Moore, who noticed how music could liven up the atmosphere around polling places.  What started with a handful of Philadelphia locations eventually grew into a national, nonpartisan nonprofit initiative.

You can get more details and sign up at the DJs at the Polls website.