Facebook has teamed up with the Electoral Commission to show every adult user of the site in the UK a message tomorrow, reminding them to register to vote ahead of the General Election on May 7.
Facebook makes the point that 27 million people in the UK visit the site daily and 35 million go there at least once a month. In the 2010 General Election, 29 million votes were cast.
People of voting age in the UK will also be able to add a ‘Life Event’ to their Facebook timeline to show they’ve registered to vote. According to research by YouGov, also released today by the Electoral Commission, 40 percent of people still don’t know they can register to vote online.
2015 is the first General Election in which people in Great Britain can register to vote online through the Gov.uk site.
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As well as prompting people to register, the Electoral Commission will be running targeted Facebook advertising to reach young people who will turn 18 by May 7.
Alex Robertson, Director of Communication at the Electoral Commission says:
“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Facebook again to reach those who will be eligible to vote on polling day. We saw at the Scottish Independence Referendum that young people are passionate and engaged about the issues that affect their lives. It’s vital that we continue to reach them on platforms like Facebook with information that’s accessible to them. Anyone not yet registered, should visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote now.”
When Facebook ran a similar campaign during the US midterm elections in 2010, it increased turnout by almost a third of a million people, according to a study by the University of California, according to a study undertaken by the University of California, San Diego.
➤ Register To Vote [Gov.uk]
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