Voting amongst the younger generation hasn’t been the most popular within the past couple of years. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement concludes that only half of young adults ages 18 to 29 voted in the 2016 election, and less than 20% of young adults voted in the 2014 midterms. To target more young adults to vote, apps like Snapchat have now created a feature that lets users vote right through the app.
Snapchat will add a “Register to vote!” alert to your profile page and send voting-age users reminders through Team Snapchat messages. The messages and alerts will all contain a link to a TurboVote registration page. Snapchat is using curated “Our Stories” revolved around the election to encourage people to register and vote. The app also has an “I’m Registered to Vote” filter available to use.
Other apps like Tinder are making moves to try and increase young voter turnout. Tinder just launched its own campaign to get users to register. Their campaign “Swipe the Vote,” is a partnership with Rock the Vote and it shares facts about elections. Information like “Did you know that only about 40% of eligible voters turn up for the midterm elections?” will pop up two to three times a week on the app. The display cards with those facts will also allow you to swipe right and it will take you to Rock the Vote’s registration page.
Other apps like Instagram have recently curated ads that will let you swipe up to register and find your polling location. It has also made an “I Voted” sticker for Instagram stories. Facebook has also joined to promote voting by creating a shareable link that you can use to encourage your friends to register.
Voting is one of the best ways you can make your voice heard. So if you haven’t registered yet, remember every state has different voter registration laws. Most states allow you to vote online through vote.gov. Make sure you vote before your state’s cut-off date.