Last Updated on September 26, 2016 by cassnetwork
Today Secretary of State Connie Lawson reported a significant increase in online voter registration in Indiana following registration reminders posted statewide by Facebook. On Friday, September 23, Facebook launched a voter registration reminder across Indiana, and since then 30,000 Indiana residents have registered to vote online.
On Friday, people on Facebook who are 18 and older began receiving a reminder at the top of their Facebook News Feed directing them to resources to register to vote in Indiana. By clicking the reminder, people were sent to Indianavoters.com to register to vote. On that site, Hoosiers can register to vote, find their polling locations and research who is on their ballot. This reminder is running across the country from September 23-26, 2016.
“Since Facebook launched its online campaign to remind Hoosiers to register to vote, we have seen substantially higher than normal online registrations,” said Secretary Lawson. “Friday was the third highest daily total ever for online registrations. I appreciate Facebook’s willingness to use its platform to encourage everyone to vote and hope Hoosiers continue to do so.”
In addition to initiating their own voter registration process, people can let friends on Facebook know that they are registered to vote and encourage their friends to register too. “Going back to 2008, we’ve been reminding people on Facebook to vote on Election Day and directing them to information on where to vote. This is the natural next step. We want people to have a voice in the process, and getting registered means that there’s one less hurdle for them,” said Samidh Chakrabarti, Facebook’s Product Manager for civic engagement.
October 11 is the deadline to register for the November 8 General Election in Indiana. Early voting starts on October 12 in Indiana.
For those who still need to register, they can visit Indianavoters.com, use the Indiana Voters app or visit their local clerk’s office.
SOURCE: News release from Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson