Department of Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortés reported a significant increase in recent voter registration in Virginia following registration reminders posted statewide by Facebook.
Starting Friday, September 23, Facebook users 18 and older began receiving a reminder at the top of their Facebook NewsFeed. By clicking the reminder, people were linked to Vote.USA.gov, a U.S. government website for voter registration information. On Vote.USA.gov, voters can select Virginia as their state of residence and find resources to register to vote on the Department’s Citizen Portal at vote.virginia.gov. Since Facebook launched the voter registration reminder thousands of Virginia residents have submitted a voter registration form.
“This administration is committed to ensuring Virginia voters have access to everything they need to make their voting experience as easy as possible, including online voter registration. We are pleased that our partnership with Facebook has resulted in thousands of newly registered voters in Virginia,” said Commissioner Cortés.
In addition to registering to vote, people can use Facebook to share their voter registration status and encourage their friends to register. “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 and Political Engagement.
October 17th is the deadline to register for the November 8 General Election. Virginians who still need to register can visit vote.virginia.gov. Voters can also see what is on their ballot, update their voter registration information, and request an absentee ballot through vote.virginia.gov.
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