Twitter is the latest social media platform to launch a national voter registration campaign. Instead of a notification or promotional message, Twitter’s drive requires a little more activity on the part of its users.
The official Twitter Government account (@Gov) can now help you get registered to vote online, and provide you with additional location-based voting info. All you have to do is send a direct message to @Gov saying hello. The account will then respond by asking for your five-digit ZIP code. Once provided, it will continue the conversation by sending you your state’s voter registration deadline and a personalized link to get registered.
The chatbot-style feature is powered by Rock the Vote, and was launched to mark National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday.
Like other social media outlets, Twitter encourages you to share a tweet once your registration is complete, using the #iRegistered hashtag, which comes with its very own emoji. When clicked, the emoji will also direct users to the voter registration link — meaning you can say that you did your part during this election. A quick look at the hashtag shows it has already been tweeted out by celebs — including Twitter’s most popular user Katy Perry, fellow pop star Ariana Grande, and Jessica Alba, among others — encouraging their followers to register.
It's National Voter Registration Day. Have you registered to vote? Let the world know! Tweet with #iRegistered. pic.twitter.com/hdPe2VGar6
— Government (@Gov) September 27, 2016
You can resume the interaction with the Twitter Government account in the lead-up to the election. According to the platform, it is partnering with Pew’s Voting Information Project and Google’s Information Civic API to update the @Gov account, allowing it to answer additional questions regarding polling place locations and ballot information.
Alongside Twitter, voter registration campaigns are now active on all the major social media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Tumblr.
