Twitter pushes people to boost voter participation in US

Twitter in a blog post mentioned that as voters face unprecedented challenges when casting their ballot in the upcoming 2020 US elections, Twitter is doing things to ensure that people have access to the reliable information they need in order to exercise their right to vote.

Every person with a Twitter account located within the United States will see:

• A home timeline prompt designed to encourage them to vote early and look up their early voting options via BallotReady — a nonpartisan voting advocacy organization. People will also be encouraged to Tweet out these resources to help spread the word.
• Interactive features on all Tweets with the hashtags #VoteEarly, #IVoted, #IVotedEarly, #YoVoté including a custom emoji and an animated like button.
• A push alert directing to an on-Twitter Public Service Announcement with additional early voting resources.

We strongly believe that everyone who is eligible should be empowered to #vote.

And we know that people on Twitter are seeking resources to safely participate in the US elections, which is why today Twitter is encouraging people in the US to vote early. pic.twitter.com/qw8XSObbxE

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) October 22, 2020

And when people do vote, we know they don't want to miss out on getting their “I Voted” sticker.

So, we added something cool to Tweets with #IVoted, #IVotedEarly or #YoVoté - your official Twitter "I Voted" sticker.

Go ahead, give this Tweet a Like! pic.twitter.com/yFNeSYn0yJ

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) October 22, 2020

A recent Ipsos poll* of people in the US who use Twitter daily and found that:

• Nine out of 10 say they are registered and plan to vote in the 2020 elections
• Two thirds have already voted or plan to vote before Election Day
• One-in-three people are still seeking information about where and when to vote

Twitter also launched a new Election Hub last month, which aims to keep users up to date with essential voting information. The prompts will add further emphasis to this push, and ideally, get more people to the polls.

We strongly believe that everyone who is eligible should be empowered to #vote.

And we know that people on Twitter are seeking resources to safely participate in the US elections, which is why today Twitter is encouraging people in the US to vote early. pic.twitter.com/qw8XSObbxE

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) October 22, 2020

Twitter has also partnered with NASS and NASED to host more than a dozen Twitter Q&As from Chief Election Officials to provide more answers to voting elated questions, while it's also created news lists from NASS and NASED to help keep users up to date.

Every state in the US has a Chief Election Official who serves as the authority on local electoral process. 🗳️

Today they will take 👉your questions 👈 on Twitter during our nationwide #AskTheElectionOfficials event in partnership with @NASSorg & @NASEDorg.

Take a look. ⬇️

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) October 6, 2020

Twitter's been pushing to boost voter participation for some time, in alignment with its broader, election-awareness and integrity updates, including badges on candidate profiles to signify their messages, and expanding its policies around election misinformation and the voting process. Twitter also stopped accepting paid political ads last year to avoid any misuse of its service.