The Broadway cast of Hamilton headed back to the recording booth to update the musical track “The Election of 1800” leading up to Election Day. The changed lyrics encourage voter registration and the importance of being politically engaged.
“In honor of National Voter Registration Day tomorrow, the Broadway company of Hamilton headed into the booth to record “The Election of 2024″. We’re proud to partner with @WhenWeAllVote and @VoteRiders to make sure everyone’s voice is heard at the polls,” the musical’s X account wrote in a post sharing a snippet of the song. “Register to vote now!”
The new lyrics are by Kurt Crowley, who reimagined Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original song from the multiple Tony-winning musical. The Broadway castmembers who took part in the session are Amanda Braun, Chloë Campbell, Marc delaCruz, Jared Dixon, Julia Estrada, Alexander Ferguson, Tamar Greene, Johanna Moise, Tré Smith, Gabriella Sorrentino, Ebrin R. Stanley, Cherry Torres and Morgan Anita Wood. (Miranda also serves as When We All Vote co-chair.)
“How does the bastion of the west democratically search out how to stay united as we churn out vitriol, and bots, and memes and try to work out how we can rebuild the trust, and boost the turn out?” begin the lyrics to the new tune.
“I am not throwing away my vote,” is a lyric featured in the chorus of the song, which also advocates for voters to check their eligibility, register to vote and help their loved ones access polling locations.
Debuting in 2015, Hamilton was a bona fide phenomenon, garnering 11 Tony wins at the 70th awards show the following year, including for Best Musical, Original Score and Book of a Musical.
In conjunction with the song’s release, the brand is also dropping a new collection of merchandise, the Hamilton Vote Collection (consisting of T-shirts, hats, stickers, buttons and bags), to be made available Sept. 17 at the Broadway Merchandise Shop and at theaters where Hamilton is performing, per BroadwayWorld. A portion of the proceeds will be equally divided among the organizations When We All Vote, VoteRiders and Vote Forward.