Facebook today launched the Voting Information Center on Facebook and Instagram which will allow US people the tools and information they need to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
In June Facebook announced that it was conducting the largest voting information campaign in American history, with the goal of helping 4 million voters register this year using Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
The main goal of this Voting Information Center is to help every eligible voter in the US who uses Facebook and Instagram platforms vote this year. This new tool connects everyone on Facebook and Instagram to accurately and find the right information about voting wherever they live, helping empower them to hold their elected officials accountable.
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This tool will send notifications at the top of Facebook and Instagram targeted by age and location so people of voting age see relevant information in their state.
“With many states making changes to the voting process because of the pandemic, the center is also designed to help people navigate a confusing election process. It is based on lessons from our COVID-19 Information Center, which has been providing accurate and authoritative information from health authorities about the pandemic since March. This will do the same for voting.”
Here’s how it works:
People can access the Voting Information Center directly from the menu on Facebook and Instagram. They can use it to check if they’re registered to vote – and if they’re not, easily register through a link that takes them directly to their state website or Facebook and Instagram nonpartisan partner. They can see if their state has expanded vote-by-mail options and request absentee or mail-in ballots from their state if it’s available. And Facebook and Instagram help people know if a deadline is approaching so they don’t miss it.
In this Voting Information Centers tool, Facebook and Instagram link to and source information from state election officials and other nonpartisan civic organizations. And Facebook and Instagram continue to work closely with state election officials through November to ensure the centers are updated with the latest election information in each state.
The company is working with state election authorities to confirm the accuracy of election information, and the company is launching a new feature on Facebook called “Voting Alerts” to help state and local election authorities reach their constituents with important updates about voting. “This will be increasingly critical as we get closer to the election, with potential late-breaking changes to the voting process that could impact voters.” Only pages from a government authority, not the personal page of an individual election official, are eligible to participate in this feature.
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