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Snapchat adds in-app voter registration targeted at young people

Credit: Snapchat

Snapchat is rolling out a slew of new tools and features to help prepare young people to vote in the November election.

Why it matters: Snapchat has unparalleled reach into Gen Z and Millennial demographics. The tools it's building are meant to guide those specific populations to more resources to help them register to vote and form a voting plan. Other platforms focusing on voter registration are doing so with a much wider user population in mind.

Details: The company is announcing four new features, according to a Snap spokesperson:

  • 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.

The big picture: Snapchat successfully registered 450,000 people through its app during the 2018 midterms. Data released in May shows that 50% of those registered actually went out and cast ballots.

What's next: The new tools will roll out in September, but Snapchat is announcing the tools Thursday on the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Snapchat says it will also release new content within its content arm, Discover, that will help inform users about how to register to vote and turn out.

Go deeper:

Go deeper

Fadel Allassan
Oct 17, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Voter suppression then and now

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photo: Barry Lewis/Getty Images 

From its start, the United States gave citizens the right to vote — as long as they were white men who owned property. From counting a slave as 3/5 of a white man to the creation of the Electoral College, there's a through-line of barriers that extends to today based on racial politics.

Why it matters: 150 years after the 15th Amendment — and 55 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act — people of color still face systemic obstacles to voting.

Deep Dive (9 min. read)Arrow
Alexi McCammond
Oct 17, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Why minority voter participation matters

Reproduced from the Pew Research Center; Chart: Axios Visuals

Legal barriers have contributed to limiting voter turnout among people of color. But if people of color voted at the rate of white voters, it would immediately alter who gets elected and what policies they pursue.

Why it matters: In the 2018 midterm elections, all major racial and ethnic groups saw a double-digit increase in their voter participation compared to the 2014 midterms, per the Pew Research Center.

Deep Dive (9 min. read)Arrow
Stef W. Kight
Oct 17, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Restoring the vote to Americans with felony records

Expand chart
Data: The Sentencing Project; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Mass incarceration has fueled Black voter disenfranchisement for decades in the U.S.

Why it matters: More than 5 million Americans are unable to vote because of a felony record, and they are disproportionately Black. The fight to undo felon disenfranchisement laws is gaining ground and could radically shift the political landscape. But progress is also fueling opposition.

Deep Dive (9 min. read)Arrow