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Snap Electoral Commission Technology

The Electoral Commission turns to Snapchat to encourage young people to vote

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

April 10, 2017 | 3 min read

Snapchat and the Electoral Commission are harnessing the power of the selfie to encourage young people to register to vote ahead of the UK local elections in May.

SNAPCHAT ELECTORAL COMMISION

The Electoral Commission turns to Snapchat to encourage young people to vote

The pair have created a voter registration Geofilter which reminds teens to register for the 4 May vote before the deadline on Monday 17 April.

The simple overlay can be used on Snaps and features comic strip-style text saying: 'Register to vote by 17 April'.

The move marks a UK first for Snapchat, and the filter is skewed towards 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland – who will be eligible to take part in the council elections for the first time next month.

According to the Electoral Commission, only 69% of 18-34 year-olds are correctly registered across Britain compared to 96% of those aged 65 and over. Research from the body also shows that less than 50% of people in Scotland are aware that 16- and 17-year-olds can vote in the council elections, and just 10% know when the registration deadline is.

Last year, during the London mayoral election and the English council elections Snapchat designed a series of filters for individuals to share after they had paid a visit to their local polling station.

During the US election several politicians bought space on the platform including Hilary Clinton who had her own interactive Lens imploring citizens to vote for her.

Snap Electoral Commission Technology

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