Launched in the early ’90s with a mission “to engage and build political power for young people in our country,” Rock the Vote has long been allied with MTV, and the campaign can be seen as that vapid network’s goodwill effort to offset the damage it does to our culture with crap like Jersey Shore and Teen Mom.

As in past elections, the emphasis from the allegedly nonpartisan not-for-profit is on voter registration. From its official hype sheet: “Our 2012-election program will aim to register 1.5 million individuals to vote and ensure that they have the information they need to cast a ballot on November 6, 2012.”

Well, they got the date for Election Day right. But take a look at the Chicago event the Rock the Vote Website is touting for its “Road Trip 2012”:

The #RTVRoadtrip is heading your way! We’ll be pulling up and unloading at Columbia College in Chicago, IL on Friday, October 12th from 12:00-4:00 pm for an awesome event that will include live music, voter registration, a peek at the new Assassins Creed III, beverages from MiO, and much more.

We hope you’ll stop by and register to vote, get your picture snapped, grab some free stuff, groove to music, and loads more! Will you meet us in Chicago? Let us know and RSVP here.

The problem with this: The last day to register as a voter in the state of Illinois is Oct. 9. But why let that get in the way of a party flouting a violent video game and a “liquid water enhancer?”

(The actual facts on registering to vote in Illinois can be found here.)