“We’re at a very, very interesting time in our country where I am sure that many of you are experiencing “mild frustration,” Keegan-Michael Key joked to a crowd of 3,000 packing he gym at Chaparral High School in Las Vegas on Sept 23rd and HollywoodLife was there.
Now, while the crowd may have laughed, they and Key, were there on a very serious mission – to register to vote and to learn how to register others to vote, for the midterm elections on Nov. 6th.
They were all in the high school auditorium thanks to the organization, ‘When We All Vote,’ co-chaired by former First Lady, Michelle Obama, who headlined the voting event.
“I’m here today to tell you guys that there is a better way (than being frustrated) – Key, urged the crowd, Don’t just use your words- you register and you vote. Don’t just talk about it, take action. Turn that anger into action!” “This November, we do have a choice. We have to step up and vote and to let our voices, every single voice in this room be heard,” he told the cheering audience. “Your voice matters, the system works, change is possible. We can all change things for the better, this November.”
Key is determined that there will be change for the better. “You’re allowed to complain if you do vote, but you can’t complain about anything if you don’t,” Key told HollywoodLife.com in an exclusive interview after the rally. The actor/ comedian/ writer and producer, admitted that this was the first political rally he’s been to since 1998, when Democrat Michael Dukakis was running against George H. W. Bush for president. Now, that was a long time ago!
But today, Key has joined Michelle Obama- “whatever she wanted, I was willing to do,” he says because he wants Americans to understand “you get the leaders that you don’t vote for, if you live a life of ‘bystanderism,’ he told HollywoodLife, “You get what you deserve if you don’t care about this very important part of the democratic process, then everything falls apart.”
Key does see something positive about our current situation. “I wish as humans we weren’t reactive. We don’t plan unless there’s a crisis and now the crisis is here, so I had to do something.” The actor/ comedian will also travel to When We All Vote rallys to speak to the crowds in this hometown of Detroit on Sept. 27th and to Miami to rally with former First Lady, Michelle Obama again, on September 28th. You can sign up to attend, on the When We All Vote website. So why is Key dedicating his time and energy to this voter registration effort?
“To me, it’s a spiritual situation. My partner, (wife producer/ director, Elisa Pugliese) said to me, we’re so fortunate, we have resources. We have to give back, when we have some kind of influence, we have to share,” he explained.
That’s why he stood up in front of a cheering crowd in Las Vegas and told them that it was time to change the culture of voting — that voting in America, should be “as natural as breathing.”
“There are so many countries in the world where people would die to get to the ballot box, would walk by bullets and guns to do it… WE SHOULD ALL BE VOTING!”
Yes, we should!
You can register to vote, right here, below, in our embedded Rock The Vote module, or go to the When We All Vote site, to register.