Michelle Obama and MTV to Host Virtual ‘Prom-athon’ to Reward High School Seniors Who Registered to Vote

When We All Vote, a national nonpartisan organization, has announced that 20 high schools have won the 2020 Prom Challenge and a national virtual prom. Co-Chair Michelle Obama surprised members of the Class of 2020 during a Zoom meeting to share that they won the challenge. She also announced that When We All Vote and MTV would partner to host a Prom-athon on May 22.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of proms around the nation, this virtual event will celebrate the Class of 2020 and continue to shine a light on the high schools and students who helped organize the most creative nonpartisan voter registration efforts in the country as part of When We All Vote’s My School Votes Program and the 2020 Prom Challenge.

The Prom-athon will start with an all-day takeover that will broadcast live on MTV, featuring prom-themed throwback movies that will also include short-form original content that will highlight the winning schools and students. The virtual prom party will follow as it will live stream digitally at 9 PM ET on MTV’s YouTube. There will be surprise celebrity guests and live performances from some of the world’s biggest artists.

Earlier this year in January, When We All Vote’s My School Votes program and MTV launched the 2020 Prom Challenge as a grant competition to challenge and recognize high schools that committed to boosting voter registration in their communities. Schools from Riverside, CA to Philadelphia, PA all the way to Miami, FL, submitted applications for the 2020 Prom Challenge.

The 2020 Prom Challenge Winners include the Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, which invited celebrities like Natalie Portman to visit its school and help bolster registration rates; and the Western School of Science & Technology in Phoenix, Arizona, which registered 84% of seniors to vote. Other winners include the Compton Early College High School in Compton, California, which pre-registered and registered nearly 100% of seniors ages 16 through 18 years old, while the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Washington, DC, registered 100% of the senior class.