Shonda Rhimes Is 'Excited' to Team Up with Michelle Obama on Voting Rights

"If our recent elections have taught us anything, it is that every vote counts!" Rhimes tells PEOPLE

The constellation of stars supporting Michelle Obama's voting rights organization is getting a little brighter: The nonpartisan group, When We All Vote, announced Monday that it was adding five celebrity co-chairs.

Stephen Curry, Becky G, H.E.R., Jennifer Lopez and Bretman Rock join 10 previous co-chairs, the group announced: Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Liza Koshy, Janelle Monáe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Paul, Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington and Rita Wilson.

"If our recent elections have taught us anything, it is that every vote counts!" Rhimes tells PEOPLE.

"I am excited to once again partner with Mrs. Obama and my fellow When We All Vote co-chairs as we continue to help educate communities on the importance of participating in all elections to help bring forth changes to both the local level as well as our country as a whole," says Rhimes, 52.

When We All Vote also released a new public-service video on Monday, with cameos from a range of supportive celebs and the former first lady, reminding people that the midterm elections are in November.

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Shonda Rhimes (left) and Michelle Obama. Frazer Harrison/Getty; NAACP via Getty

The co-chairs lend their platforms and names in a variety of ways, When We All Vote says — "to drive voter registration, education and turnout in the 2022 midterm elections and beyond, helping When We All Vote meet its mission of changing the culture around voting and closing the race and age voting gaps." (As an example, the group says some of the co-chairs will send registration reminder texts to people who have just turned 18.)

Obama, 58, launched When We All Vote in 2018, after leaving the White House, "to change the culture around voting and increase participation in every election," the group says.

Among the range of events and actions organized, Obama hosted Hanks and Wilson for a voter registration event in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The couple joined her and thousands of volunteers and others for a literal call-to-action before the second When We All Vote #CouchParty.

Obama spoke about the importance of vote-by-mail being accessible to all voters, noting that she and husband Barack Obama have sent in their ballots for "every election for the last decade."

"Voting should never, ever be difficult and it should never be a partisan issue," she said then.