If you voted in Hampstead this year, you probably saw the usual Election Day crowd in the parking lot of the Pender County Government Annex: Board of Elections workers, campaign volunteers, maybe a few poll watchers, and, obviously, other voters.
But you might have also seen a man with a pair of speakers and a DDJ. More likely, you heard him blasting music. He's named Eric London — a.k.a. DJ Stud — and he came out to help people dance and vote.
London is part of a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign called DJs at the Polls, which started in Philadelphia in 2008. It's since expanded to eleven states — including this year, for the first time, in North Carolina. About 1,400 polling locations in North Carolina are participating in the program, with more than 700 DJs playing. Some, like London, covered multiple spots.
"This morning, I played all gospel, and I enjoyed it. Here, I started at 11:30 and I played country music for hours. I enjoy country music. Now I'm playing pop rock," he told WHQR. "Now, when I go to North Topsail Elementary, I'll probably play some other stuff: R&B, or some old-school Motown."
London has been DJing for 38 years — since he was 14 years old. He mostly performs at weddings or other events in Wilmington, which is where he lives now. But he was excited to bring the program to his hometown of Hampstead.
"Everybody has a positive reaction to it. They're like, 'Man, this is something new. We enjoying the music while we're standing in line,'" he said. "I've been getting positive [reactions] since 6:30 this morning."
To participate, DJs need to promote their sets on social media several times throughout their gigs in order to draw out voters. They also need to cast their own ballots, which London did during early voting in Wilmington. This year, he's especially concerned about the local elections.
"Voting is important, especially this local stuff. If you don't vote, local government suffers. A lot of the local businesses suffer," he said. "I know the President is important, but you gotta support this local stuff, too."
But overall, he just wants more people at the polls.
"Get out and vote. Don't care who you vote for — vote, because if you don't vote, you don't have any voice," he said.
