How to Use Social Media to Register to Vote
The 2020 presidential election will take place on November 3, which means the time is already running for voters who need to complete or renew their registrations. The good news is that there are many services you can use to register for online voting. (You really have no excuse.)
However, there is a wealth of misinformation, including outright fake websites that impersonate voter registration pages . At best, they are deliberately misleading; others are phishing and malware traps.
But don’t let lies and fakes discourage you from registering if you need to. Stick to the apps and websites we provide in this post and you will be safe.
Register to vote on social media
Almost all social media sites have links to useful – and real – voter registration sites that will take you less than a minute or two to complete.
Snapchat
Of all these apps and platforms, Snapchat is by far the best. You can register directly on the Register to Vote app portal by clicking your profile picture in the upper left corner of the screen. The portal also includes many built-in voting guides and resources. This year, according to the app’s tally, nearly 1 million people have signed up to vote via Snapchat, which speaks volumes about the ease of the process.
Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram are working to vote and keep voters updated with their comprehensive voting information center , where you can register, check your status, view voting information for your region, and more. Facebook encourages registration through pinned links to online registration and newsletter forms, as well as periodic reminders in your feed. The platform also flagges (or even removes) messages with misleading or blatantly false voting information (although you shouldn’t trust much of what you see there anyway).
Instagram, meanwhile, is promoting official Story posts with registration links, and sponsored ads from official voter registration pages will likely show up in your timeline. According to Facebook, about 2.5 million people have registered to vote through the Voting Clearinghouse. In fact, this is the least they could do for democracy at the moment.
Twitter also uses official sponsored ads and banner notifications to help users sign up. You can also subscribe to @TwitterGov for periodic voting reminders, and you can get state information by submitting a DM to your account.
In addition to these features, each platform encourages you to post when you register or vote, which can help encourage others to follow your lead. (You can even add a great “Sign up to Vote” sticker to your Instagram Story – US exclusive).
More apps and useful registration information
Social media isn’t the only shortcut, however. Other apps and websites such as YouTube, Discord, Uber, Google Search and more also contain links to complete online voter registration, and more are bound to appear in the coming weeks.
Most will take you to an online registration portal such as TurboVote , Vote.gov , NCSL.gov , or US Election Assistance Commission mail registration forms if you live in one of the few states where online voter registration not carried out . These are all legal ways to register to vote.
And, hey, since we’ve just dropped pretty much every link we might need to fill out your voter registration online or by mail, I think that means this post is just another way to register online. If you’ve read this far, take a minute or two to complete the registration. And please don’t forget to vote on November 3rd. Added screenshots and additional information about registration via various social networks to this story.