PhotoA 17-word Facebook reminder contributed to substantial increases in online voter registration across the country, according to top election officials. In California, 123,279 people registered to vote or updated their registrations on Friday, Sept. 23, the first day that Facebook users were presented with the reminder. The Facebook Bump Many states saw large increases in online voter registration when Facebook reminded users to register from Sept. 23 to Sept. 26. Maryland 6910 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Minnesota 10810 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Oregon 6646 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Pennsylvania 7540 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Washington 1452 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Maryland 6910 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Minnesota 10810 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Oregon 6646 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Pennsylvania 7540 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26 Washington 1452 09/19 09/20 09/21 09/22 09/23 09/24 09/25 09/26Facebook’s effort is notable not just for boosting voter registration, but also for the kinds of voters it may have helped to enlist. The secretaries of state in Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska and West Virginia also credited Facebook, at least in part, for boosting registration.

Source: New York Times October 12, 2016 12:03 UTC