Young Would-Be Voters Answer Taylor Swift's Plea

After boosting the economy, Taylor Swift thought she might as well boost voter registration, too. Vote.org has credited the singer with helping to register more than 35,000 new voters Tuesday on National Voter Registration Day. "I've been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently," Swift, in the midst of her Eras Tour, wrote in an Instagram story, per Axios. "I've heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you're ready to use them in our elections this year!" The singer included a link to Vote.org, whose CEO highlighted her influence. "Our site was averaging 13,000 users every 30 minutes—a number that Taylor Swift would be proud of," Andrea Hailey said, referencing the singer's famous obsession with the number 13.

Some 35,252 new voters were registered Tuesday—the largest number since 2020, per Axios. There was a 23% increase compared to 2022's National Voter Registration Day, and a 115% increase in 18-year-olds registering. Axios also describes "record-breaking web traffic," with 157,041 eligible voters visiting the site. Of course, Swift wasn't the only high-profile figure calling for new voter registrations. As the Hill notes, Michelle Obama appeared in a video alongside NBA player Chris Paul, YouTube star Liza Koshy, and social media influencer Bretman Rock, to urge the same thing. That video directed people to weall.vote/check and went out to Obama's 56.4 million Instagram followers. Swift's post went out to her 272 million followers.

It wasn't the first time Vote.org drew attention to Swift's power of influence. Swift first urged fans to register to vote in 2018 when she broke her silence on politics to back Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee. Over the next 24 hours, Vote.org data showed almost 65,000 Americans aged 18 to 29 had signed up, per CNBC. "Taylor's post has helped bring out young voters," the nonprofit said at the time. Swift has kept up the message ever since. Earlier this year, the 33-year-old urged fans in Tennessee to vote early in city and state elections. "I voted today and I urge each and every one of you to do the same and make your voice heard," Swift wrote in an Instagram story on July 14, per the Hill. (More Taylor Swift stories.)