Taylor Swift has predictably sparked a surge in new voter registrations — a reported boost of 500% — after she publicly endorsed Karmala Harris for November’s US election.
CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister has reported more than 400,000 people visited the US government’s official sign-up website, vote.org, in the 24 hours following Swift’s Instagram post, where she included the link. Normally, the site gets about 30,000 visitors per day.
Data firm TargetSmart’s Tom Swift has since told CBS they believe Swift’s endorsement has led to a “400% or 500% increase” in voter registration — nearly 10,000 people per hour.
Swift showed her support for current Vice President and Democrats’ candidate Harris in a post on Instagram, shortly after she watched her first debate with former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
As of Friday 5pm AEST, it has raked in more than 10.6 million “likes”.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift wrote.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.
Swift has more than 284 million followers worldwide on her Instagram account. She added in her post that it was up to her legions of Swifities and America’s voters to make up their own minds. “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make,” she wrote.
In the wake of her post, Swift again drew attention to the US Election at the MTV Music Awards in New York on Wednesday night. She encouraged viewers to register to vote but did not mention Harris.
