Harry Styles helped tens of thousands of individuals register to vote ahead of this year’s midterm elections through a partnership with nonprofit HeadCount, the organization announced this week.
The national voter registration organization and the “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” singer announced the collaboration in September as part of HeadCount’s “Good to Vote” campaign.
Individuals could visit the website to check their voter registration and sign up to vote – or find out how to register to vote, in some states – to enter a competition that gave one lucky winner two concert tickets, airfare, a hotel stay and merchandise to the musician’s much-hyped Halloween show, dubbed “Harryween,” on Oct. 31.
In total, the partnership saw 54,000 new voter registrations, which makes up over a quarter of HeadCount’s 200,000-plus total registrations this year. The organization also saw an all-time high of 28,760 new registrations within the 24 hours after the partnership with Styles was announced.
This year also marks the highest number of total registrations in a single year for the organization.
“Having the support of individuals like Harry Styles has a tremendous impact,” Andy Bernstein, co-founder and executive director of HeadCount, said in announcing the partnership. “This is especially important for the midterms, which often receive less media attention than the presidential elections. It helps us reach more potential voters and ensure people get their voices heard.”
HeadCount has previously partnered with big Hollywood names like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, Beyoncé, Lizzo and more in an effort to register individuals to vote.
The winner of Harry Styles’ sweepstakes, identified by PEOPLE as “Rachel,” told the outlet she is "super proud to be a fan of someone like Harry who wants to make a change and encourage everyone to do better."
While the British popstar himself cannot vote in U.S. elections, the 28-year-old has supported a bevy of liberal causes and candidates in recent years. In October 2020, less than a month ahead of the presidential elections, the “Watermelon Sugar” singer endorsed Joe Biden for the nation’s highest office, writing in a tweet: “If I could vote in America, I’d vote with kindness.”
More recently, Styles offered his tacit endorsement to Texas’ gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke. During an Oct. 2 show in Austin, the “As It Was” singer paused in front of the crowd as a camera zoomed in on his guitar and a sticker bearing the words “Beto for Texas,” which Styles repeatedly gestured to as the crowd applauded.
O’Rourke later shared a photograph of the two together at another show, and separately told the hosts of the “Hysteria” podcast that he was “grateful” that Styles’ support sparked more young people to take an interest in the statewide elections.
“They’re curious and they’re coming out and they’re getting registered to vote,” O’Rourke said of the younger generation. “So that was a huge boost, and I am so grateful to him.”
Styles has also been vocal on the issue of gun violence prevention, and in May partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety in the wake of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
“On our North American tour, we will be partnering with Everytown who work to end gun violence, donating to support their efforts, and sharing their suggested action items,” he wrote in an Instagram post at the time.