The fever caravan to voter registration sites is on the high. Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris following Tuesday night’s debate with Donald Trump caused a surge in traffic to vote.gov.
According to CNN, a federal agency spokesperson reported that 337,826 visitors accessed the site via a custom URL Swift shared on Instagram after her endorsement. The number of website visitors who registered to vote remains unclear.
In her endorsement, 34-year-old Swift stated she is voting for Harris “because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” The megastar encouraged first-time voters to register and promised to share a link for registration and early voting dates in her Instagram story.
RELATED STORIES
The federal voter registration site, Vote.gov, directs users to their state-specific registration processes, as reported by the New York Post.
The site saw a massive 585% spike in engagement during the debate, according to a Vote.org spokesperson. Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, credited Swift for boosting voter engagement during the debate.
“Taylor Swift’s impact on voter engagement is undeniable,” she added.
Swift, who is fresh from her European Eras Tour, said she had done her research prior to her endorsement and urged her fans to do the same.
The Cruel Summer singer explained that she was motivated to reveal her presidential pick after AI-generated images falsely showed her supporting the Republican candidate.
“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is the truth.”
While Swift explained her reasons for voting for Harris, she did not directly urge her fans to support Harris. Instead, she indicated that she had done her “research” and encouraged her Swifties to do the same.
“If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most,” she said.
“As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.”
In her endorsement, Swift included a photo of herself holding her cat, Benjamin Button, from her December Time Person of the Year spread.
The photo choice is seen as a response to a 2021 comment by Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, who disparaged Democratic women as “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.”
Trump brushed off Taylor Swift’s endorsement, telling “Fox & Friends” that he has a much stronger preference for Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better, if you want to know the truth. She’s a big Trump fan,” the Republican nominee said when asked about Swift’s endorsement.
Brittany Mahomes recently made headlines for liking one of Trump’s Instagram posts that outlined his “2024 GOP Platform.”
She later criticized her “haters” after her like on the post, which was widely interpreted as an endorsement of Trump.
