In November 2018, musical artists Emily White, Mike Luba, and Pat Sansone, members of the musical groups Wilco and The Autumn Defense, founded the #iVoted initiative, the largest digital music event in history.
The goal of #iVoted is to encourage Americans to get out and vote, regardless of their political affiliations.
In anticipation of this year’s presidential election, this musical trio is putting together another performance on election night November 3. Voters can tune-in by RSVP and are encouraged to take a selfie of themselves with their mail-in ballot.
In addition to all of the musical artists, the movement has just recruited its first athlete, who happens to be Olympic gold-medalist and swimming icon Anthony Ervin. Ervin was the first athlete client of #iVoted co-founder Emily White’s Collective Entertainment management group.
A 4x Olympic medalist, Ervin is one of USA swimming’s most passionate and resilient swimmers. In 2000, he won gold in the 50-meter freestyle at the Sydney Olympics at just 19-years of age. His win made him the first black swimmer in American history to win gold in swimming. He continued a successful career for the next three years before retiring in 2003 to pursue other interests.
In 2011, however, Ervin found his way back to the sport, and it didn’t take long for him to get back to form. He qualified for both the 2012 and 2016 US Olympic teams, but it was in Rio that he made history. In the 50 free he shocked the world and upset favorite Florent Manaudou by winning gold. This earned him his second gold in this event, 16 years after winning his first one. It also made the 35-year old the oldest swimmer in history to win a gold medal.
Ervin has also been active in addressing social issues, often linking them to swimming. At a meet in Brazil in 2017, he knelt during the American national anthem in protest of racial inequality in the United States. His action mirrored that of many players in other sports, notably football player Colin Kaepernick, who was the first athlete to kneel during the national anthem at a major sporting event.
As part of the #iVoted event on election night, Ervin will put together a video message. All voters have to do to tune in is RSVP.
For more information on this event, visit https://www.ivotedconcerts.com/.
