Partnership Brings Voter Registration To Xbox Live

Xbox 360 users can now register to vote using their consoles, through a new partnership between Microsoft and activist organization Rock the Vote aimed at engaging young audiences to an interest in politics. The new services, launching on Xbox Live August 25th, will also let users participate in polls, download Rock the Vote public service announcements, and voice their opinions to the presidential candidates through a special forum. Xbox will promote the partnership at both the Democratic and Republican convention, where Microsoft will also aim to educate delegates about the parental controls on the console and its Live component. Rock the Vote notes that if Xbox Live's 12 million userbase were a state, it would rank as the nation's seventh-largest, with approximately 20 electoral votes. "Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters," says Rock the Vote executive director Heather Smith, executive director. "To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live."