An Instagram post from pop star Taylor Swift reportedly helped to prompt some 35,000 Americans to register to vote on National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday.
“Are you registered to vote yet?” Swift wrote on her Instagram page, linking to Vote.org. “Make sure you’re ready to use [your voices] in our elections this year!”
According to Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, the site was averaging about 13,000 users every 30 minutes on Tuesday.
Other prominent public figures also prompted their followers to register on Tuesday. For instance, former First Lady Michelle Obama posted a video message from her organization, When We All Vote, alongside NBA player Chris Paul, YouTube star Liza Koshy and social media influencer Bretman Rock, calling on Americans to check their voter registration status.
“Text three friends of family members and ask them to check their registration status, too,” Mrs. Obama said in the video.
Since National Voter Registration Day was founded in 2012, the organization says more than five million Americans have registered to vote on the nonpartisan civic holiday.
That said, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, as many as one in four eligible American citizens remain unregistered to vote.
National Voter Registration Day is endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the National Association of Election Officials (The Election Center).
