‘Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy’ Hosted by Alicia Keys, America Ferrera And Kerry Washington Airs on CBS

(New York, New York | Friday, October 30, 2020) Last night, Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy, a nationally televised event, aired on the CBS Television Network and streamed via CBS All Access, as well as iHeartMedia radio stations and app. The special will also be available to watch tonight, Friday, October 30th, at 9PM ET on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Apple TV App, NowThis, YouTube, Twitter, TIDAL and Facebook.

Hosted by Alicia Keys, America Ferrera, and Kerry Washington, Every Vote Counts honored and celebrated the power of voting through music, dance and dialogue. Artists, musicians, performers, and community leaders came together for a nonpartisan celebration of American democracy, with the goal of uplifting the power of civic action and celebrating the precious value of every single citizen’s right to vote.

Viewers were asked to create voting plans and build voting teams, and were called on to pledge to vote and help make sure the U.S. election is fair and accurate. 

The special featured musical performances, interviews with everyday voters, and speakers sharing information on how to vote and allay concerns they may have around voting amid a pandemic.

Key moments from the special included:

• Kerry Washington in conversation with Beatrice Lumpkin - a 102 year old who is voting in her 21st presidential election and fashioned her own hazmat suit in order to drop off her ballot during the pandemic - and two first time voters, Carolina Hidalgo-McCabe and Michael Franklin (clip here).
• Amy Schumer and Chris Rock chat about what to prepare when getting ready to vote, including checking their registration and polling place, packing their identification and proof of address, and even bringing a snack in case of long lines (clip here).
• In support of restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals and in celebration of his first time voting, Offset performed “Lick” (clip here).
• America Ferrera and former Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) (both members of Count Every Votes National Council on Election Integrity) discuss why this election may take longer to call and urge Americans and the media to be patient while every vote is counted (clip here).
• Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Wilmer Valderrama, and other Latinx voters share their thoughts about the growing Latinx population in the United States, the issues that matter to them most, and the pride and power in their vote (clip here).
• Shawn Mendes debuted the acoustic version of his new song "Wonder" in a powerful performance (clip here).
• Cobie Smulders, Tan France, and other newly naturalized citizens share their excitement about voting in the U.S. election (clip here).
• Alora Young of Nashville, Nyarae Francis of Inglewood, Quinn Edlin of Berkeley, and William Lohier of Brooklyn, members of Young Poets’ Voices, shared a spoken word piece about the power of voting (clip here).
• With a touching live performance, Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile debuted a brand new song, “Beautiful Noise” (clip here).

Every Vote Counts is an appeal to all Americans – all races, creeds and parties – to get to the polls in the final days of this election season. The nonpartisan special reminded viewers that the right to vote has been hard fought, fair elections must be protected, and above all a strong democracy depends on participation. 

Cisco Webex joined Every Vote Counts as the presenting partner. Every Vote Counts was produced by Live Nation, Global Citizen, Chad Hines and Ivan Dudynsky for Live Animals, and co-produced by Alicia Keys, America Ferrera, Kerry Washington, Hugh Evans, Michael Rapino, Eva Longoria, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Piers Williams, Chris Stadler, Rick Yorn, AK Worldwide, Harness, Simpson Street, and Sunshine Sachs. Support for the special was provided by Pop Culture Collaborative and other private foundations. Facts and figures referenced in Every Vote Counts were provided by HeadCount, with special packages provided by NowThis. 

Every Vote Counts was a nonpartisan civic engagement event and was not a fundraiser. For more information and to pledge to vote, visit www.globalcitizen.org/everyvote.

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