Taylor Swift helped drive over 400,000 people to voter registration resources following her endorsement of Kamala Harris earlier this week.
Along with her endorsement, Swift shared a crucial reminder, especially for first-time voters: “Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story.” She included a link to Vote.gov, a website run by two federal agencies — the General Services Administration and Election Assistance Commission —that helps people register and verify their registration status.
In the three hours after Swift shared the link, between 9 p.m. and midnight ET on Tuesday, Sept. 10, there was a 585 percent spike in voters using the site’s registration and verification tools (compared to the same time frame over the previous eight days). Over the next 24 hours, about 406,000 people clicked on Swift’s link, accounting for more than half of the approximately 727,000 people who visited Vote.gov. By comparison, Vote.gov received an average of 30,000 visitors per day between Sept. 3 and 9 (via The New York Times).
In a statement, Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey said Swift’s “impact on voter registration is undeniable.” She continued: “The important thing to remember is that Taylor’s work serves as a model that everyone with a platform can use to encourage Americans to participate in civic engagement. At the heart of it all, every American is an influencer and can help people around them register, vote, and protect access to the ballot box.”
Swift announced she was voting for Harris and Tim Walz on Tuesday, following Harris’ debate with Donald Trump. “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift said. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Along with inspiring a bunch of people to check out Vote.gov, Swift’s post prompted Stevie Nicks to endorse Harris as well and Elon Musk to make one of the creepiest posts ever. The Democratic National Committee has since launched a couple of billboards with references to Swift, while Trump has tried to insist that Swift will “pay a price in the marketplace” for her Harris endorsement.