National Voter Registration Day is a time for US citizens to celebrate their democracy and aid people register to vote. But the global COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant impact on this year’s election. Getting accurate information about when, where, and how to vote has become more important than ever.
For this reason, the social media giant Facebook has participated in the largest campaign for voting information in American history. The campaign’s goal is to help register four million eligible to vote in the US this year.
According to Facebook, it was able to help approximately 2.5 million people register this year so far across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. This is based on the conversion rates that the social media network has calculated from many states that it partnered with. That number is still growing, but Facebook says that it has more work to do.
It is only less than a month before the election day. Besides, deadlines for registration are fast approaching in many states. For this reason, Facebook has put up the full force of its platform for the said campaign. This effort will empower every eligible voter to have a voice in their own election.
Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram’s Role in Helping People Register
The social media giant has been showing users in the US information about voting and register since September. This information appears at the top of Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram apps. Once users tap on them, the banners will prompt them to a relevant page with their state’s official website. For instance, online voter registration is not available in a user’s state. The banner will redirect them to one of Facebook’s non-partisan partner organizations.
The information banner was shown on the apps until September 25. It was similar to the previous top of feed registration drives that the social media giant ran in the summer.
Moreover, Facebook said that it would continue to use all its platforms to help people ahead of the election. Another effort that it did was launching the #PledgeToVoteChallenge on Facebook. Through this hashtag, Facebook users can announce that they are planning to vote and then tag their friends to nominate them to do the challenge.
Also, Facebook introduced sticker packs that people can use on their Facebook and Instagram Stories as well as on Messenger. Using these stickers, they can show their friends that they participate in the election and encourage others to do the same.
National Voter Registration Day stickers were also launched on Instagram. Different artists created the said stickers from the social media giant’s community. Also, they will be added to a special Register to Vote story.
Weeks ahead of the election, Facebook also worked with talented Instagram artists to create stickers about voting. Some stickers are themed with requesting a mail-in ballot and letting the users’ community know that they registered.
Facebook Launched a Consumer Awareness Campaign
In September, the social media giant has launched a national campaign called More Questions, More Answers. This campaign aims to encourage people to visit and use Facebook’s Voting Information Centers. Through this effort, the social media giant will help ensure that people’s votes are counted in this election. Facebook and Instagram apps will also run campaigns on their platforms to encourage users to visit the Voting Information Center.
Furthermore, this is the first time the social media giant ran its campaign for its apps. The campaign has also run across cable, national broadcast, radio, and digital homepage takeovers within lifestyle and news outlets.
Facebook’s Virtual Vote-A-Thon
Last month, Facebook Watch has streamed a special Vote-A-Thon 2020 video on the Facebook App page. The live stream was hosted by Lisa Koshy.
Moreover, the video reimagined classic telethon. It featured a daisy calls between some of the most popular celebrities and public figures in America. Its goal is to help people register and vote. The special stream also showed human interest stories from communities across the US. Furthermore, it also featured the unsung heroes of this year’s election process.
Voting Information Center: A Way to Help People Register to Vote
More than 39 million individuals have already visited Facebook and Instagram’s Voting Information Center to get more information about how to register and vote in their state. Now that the voter registration is near its deadline, the social media giant decided to add the deadline for the information. This way, people will have enough time to complete their registration applications.
Also, Facebook has launched the early voting feature. It contains more information about dates, early voting polling locations, as well as hours.
The early voting feature will also allow users to know their state’s voting by mail options. They can also request a mail or absentee ballot using the feature if that is available for them. Apart from that, it will also provide them with details suc0h as upcoming deadlines. This way, they will be able to have more and enough time to plan.
Facebook’s Voting Information Center is now available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Tagalog, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Mandarin. Through this, US citizens can register and vote using their native language.
Getting Voter Registration Information Using WhatsApp
Notably, the messaging app WhatsApp is another product by Facebook. For this reason, the social media giant utilized the platform to make helpful services through messaging.
Buying Facebook likes has exerted effort to bring the International Fact-Checking Network on WhatsApp. With this effort, people will get accurate and relevant information about voting issues in English and Spanish.
In addition to that, vote.org is now accessible on WhatsApp. This provides people with information about registering, requesting a mail ballot, and getting help if they encountered a problem at the polls.
