In a single Instagram post on Tuesday night, Taylor Swift may have just opened the floodgates for a significant segment of young voters who are now inspired to register and vote in the upcoming presidential election in November.
The popular singer’s endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, a move many of her fans had been urging her to make, included an Instagram Story featuring a link to the voter resources site Vote.gov. This website, managed by federal agencies, serves as a hub where individuals can access voter registration information for their respective states.
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In the first 24 hours following Swift’s endorsement, a surge in visits to Vote.gov was primarily driven by the links she shared. More than 406,000 individuals clicked on the link during this period, accounting for over half of the site’s overall visits. Prior to the presidential debate on Tuesday, the site had been receiving an average of about 30,000 visits a day.
Other voter resource websites also experienced a notable increase in traffic. The League of Women Voters, which operates Vote411.org, observed a shift in their visitors’ demographics. Before Swift’s endorsement, individuals between the ages of 55 and 65 were the main visitors. However, following her endorsement, the majority of visitors were aged between 18 and 24.
Vote.org, another resource site, saw a significant spike in voter registrations, nearly tripling the number from 8,865 registrations per day before the debate to about 27,000 on Wednesday.
While these websites do not facilitate direct registration, they serve as indicators of the increased political engagement spurred by Swift’s influence and the debate, especially with the election looming just two months away.
There has been speculation about the extent of Swift’s impact beyond her core audience of women who constitute her most devoted fans.
“In this moment, the thing the Harris campaign needs the most is to figure out how to reach men,” noted CNN correspondent Abby Phillip. “They’ve got to figure it out here in Pennsylvania. They’ve got to figure out how to reach Black men. And I’m not sure Taylor Swift helps them with that.”
This is not the first time that Swift’s advocacy has led to increased political participation. Last year, when she encouraged her Instagram followers to register to vote on National Voter Registration Day, Vote.gov saw 35,252 new registrations, representing a 23% increase from the previous year.
At the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift once again emphasized the importance of voting while accepting one of her seven awards.
“If you are over 18, please register to vote for something else that’s very important coming up: The 2024 presidential election,” Swift urged.
The Harris campaign expressed their gratitude to Swift by selling $20 Harriz-Walz friendship bracelets, which quickly sold out by Wednesday afternoon.