Snapchat to roll out in-app voter registration, voter guide, more

Snapchat is set to roll out a new set of election-focused features to not only help its users get informed about how to vote but also register to vote right within the app.

Snapchat has a user base that’s estimated to be 90% comprised of 13-24 year-olds. For the 18-24 age range that’s eligible to vote this fall, Snapchat has announced some new features to get its users to the polls like being able to register to vote right from your iPhone.

Reported by Axios, the election focused features will roll out starting in September and include:

• Voter Registration ‘Mini’: Snapchat announced at its Partner Summit earlier this year a new feature that allows outside developers to build utilities directly into Snapchat. The new “Voter Registration Mini” allows users to register to vote directly in Snapchat. It will also include a tracker to monitor how many users have registered to vote on Snapchat.
• Voter Guide: Snapchat is launching a new “Voter Guide” that provides users with information about topics like voting by mail, ballot education and voter registration. The guide is available via keyword search and will feature resources by expert organizations like the NAACP, ACLU, BallotReady, DemocracyWorks, APIA Vote, I am a Voter, Vote Early Day, National Voter Registration Day and more. 
• Before You Vote ‘Mini’: Snapchat is partnering with BallotReady to launch a new “Mini” feature that will help Snapchat users learn about different voting options (in-person, vote-by-mail, etc.) and will encourage them to make a plan to go vote.
• Voter Checklist: Snapchat is launching a new voter portal that will serve as a checklist that can help users register to vote and will live in each Snapchatter’s user profile.

Axios notes that Snapchat got 450,000 of its users registered to vote in the 2018 midterms with half of that number following through and making it to the polls. Time will tell but it sounds likely that this year’s efforts from the social media platform will see even more Snapchat users vote.

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