DoSomething.org, US organisation for teens and social change, and partner Virgin Mobile USA have launched an effort to mobilise young people to take political action with the use of their mobile phones. The election campaign, Vote Up or Shut Up, supports young people running for office and allows anyone, no matter what age, to get involved. The campaign creates a pre-registration database of 16 and 17-year-olds so when they turn 18 they can be easily reached and reminded to register to vote. Participants are able to pre-register online or through their mobile phones. The campaign plans to encourage young people to vote online through a partnership with HeadCount.org and highlights four young candidates under the ages of twenty-five, of all political backgrounds, who are running for various offices across the country from school board to state legislature. Young people voting rates are lower than any other age and most cite the fact that no politicians look like them as one of the reasons they are disengaged with politics. The message of the Vote Up or Shut Up campaign is 'politics is not an old man's game'. In autumn 2012, DoSomething.org and Virgin Mobile will launch The Call of Fame to mobilise young people across the country to take action on important social issues.
