Taylor Swift’s influence once again proved its power, driving almost half a million visitors to the federal voting registration site Vote.gov within a single day.
According to CNN, Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and her call to action led to 405,999 visitors flocking to the site. While visitors do not equate to completed registrations, the surge in interest is noteworthy.
This influx came from a link Swift shared on her Instagram stories, which remained accessible for 24 hours. Typically, the site garners around 30,000 visitors daily, making this spike a significant deviation from the norm. A General Services Administration spokesperson confirmed this substantial increase in traffic.
In addition to the federal site, Vote.org, a nonpartisan voting advocacy group, reported a remarkable uptick in activity. Following Swift’s post, 27,000 individuals registered as new voters, and over 80,000 people verified their registration status on the site.
At the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift continued her voter registration push while accepting the award for video of the year. As of publication, post-VMA data from the federal site was not yet available.
This isn’t the first time Swift has inspired a wave of new voter registrations. Last year, her advocacy led to a record-breaking 35,000 people registering through Vote.org, marking the site’s most successful Voter Registration Day in three years. This phenomenon, often dubbed the Taylor Swift effect, mirrors the boost her Eras Tour brings to local economies and tourism, highlighting her significant impact.
Swift’s political engagement began in earnest in 2018 when she voiced support for Democratic candidates in Tennessee’s congressional race. This year, her endorsement of Harris was highly anticipated, and it quickly became a rallying point for her politically active fans. Harris’s campaign seized the opportunity, using Swift’s song “The Man” and selling Swiftie-inspired friendship bracelets to capitalize on the momentum.
Taylor Swift’s call to action demonstrates her powerful role in mobilizing voter participation and highlights the enduring impact of her advocacy.