Snapchat launches general election geofilter to get people to register to vote
- Published
Snapchat has launched a new filter to try to get more people to vote in June's general election.
The social media firm, which has around 10 million subscribers in the UK, has teamed up with the Electoral Commission to remind users to register before the deadline, which is on Monday 22 May.
The Snapchat filter asks users to find their voice next to a graphic of a ballot box and a pink voting slip.
Users are being encouraged to apply the filter and send it to their friends.
The geofilter appears on all users' apps regardless of age, so teenagers are also reminded they can register before they turn 18.
You can register to vote online at the government's website, external - you'll need your national insurance number and passport to hand.
More than half (51%) of Snapchat users are aged 18 to 34, according to digital market research firm Verto Analytics.
Research by the Electoral Commission shows a big difference between the number of younger people signed up to vote compared to older people.
Almost one-third (30%) of adults under 34 not registered, compared with just four in 100 over-55s.
Turnout among 18 to 24-year-olds in recent elections has tended to increase in the last decade, with less than half (43%) casting their vote in 2015, compared with 44% in 2010 and 37% in 2005.
Facebook could play an influential role in the outcome of the general election on 8 June.
The Leave campaign says the platform helped them win the Brexit vote last June, and Donald Trump's Republican Party claims it was decisive in him winning the US election in November.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton released a Snapchat geofilter ahead of last November's US election, which allowed users to change into the candidate.
Snapchat filter in bid to boost young voter turnout
Meanwhile, similar tactics were employed by the Electoral Commission during the Scottish council elections in early May, with a special Snapchat filter launched.
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