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Midterm elections are less than a month away, and, for many states, the deadline for registration has passed.
In the last few days before registration closed, the New York Times reported that the whole country saw a spike in voter registration, with more than 150,000 new registrations. Just a little fewer than half of those registrations came from people ages 18-24. The state of Tennessee also saw a spike in registrations of about 6,000 people.
This spike in registrations is no coincidence after pop star Taylor Swift took to Instagram to discuss her political stances and particularly endorsed two Democratic candidates from Tennessee.
“I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” said Swift.
In the age of social media, celebrity opinions have a significant impact on votes as well as the political opinions of their fans.
Image from Instagram
This kind of influence is expected from anything celebrities do. When they endorse anything, political or not, their fans pick up on it and make it part of their lives. Celebrities have been this way for a long time, but it seems they are more influential now because their message reaches further and faster with social media.
After Swift expressed her opinions, she turned her Instagram comments off, assumedly to prevent arguments and hateful comments. Similarly, Kanye West recently expressed support of Donald Trump as well. He has taken to social media more than once to display his “Make America Great Again” hat and supportive words for the president, after which he has deleted both his Twitter and Instagram. Kanye West even visited President Trump at the White House on Thursday.
Image from Billboard
As with discourse of any kind, celebrities sharing and endorsing different political stances raises questions. Should celebrities remain unbiased? Why are their voices so influential?
The answers are relatively simple. Celebrities are people with thoughts, feelings and yes… opinions. Regardless of what views they may have, it is unreasonable to expect celebrities to keep silent on their political opinions or partisan biases.
At the end of the day, celebrity endorsement or not, social media and technology in general increase voter turnout. For example, the transportation app Lyft is offering free and discounted rides to citizens who are have been unable to vote in the past due to a lack of transportation. They even used Twitter to announce this campaign, which they are calling “The Ride to Vote.” Social media sites like Facebook also offer users reminders about registration, as well as about when election day is.
Image from Twitter
Though voter turnout and registration fluctuates every year, support from social media and celebrities can certainly spike civic participation at least temporarily. It can especially increase participation for midterm elections, which are far more overlooked than general presidential elections. Celebrities and social media combined are incredibly influential.
Sources: New York Times, Instagram, Vox, VanityFair, Twitter, FairVote
Images: Instagram, Billboard, Twitter
Featured Image: Time
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