Swift credited with vote-registration surge
Taylor Swift may have risked her reputation to endorse two Democratic congressional nominees in Tennessee, but according to Vote.org, her Instagram post Sunday has inspired a surge in voter registration.
“Thank God for Taylor Swift,” Kamari Guthrie, director of communications for the voting non-profit, told Buzzfeed News, stating that more than 65,000 people registered to vote in the 24-hour period following Swift’s post.
According to Guthrie, Vote.org had its second-busiest day of the year after Swift’s post with 155,940 unique visitors to its website, making it the site’s biggest day since National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 25.
It seems Swift’s post has specifically inspired new voters in her home state of Tennessee. Of the 5,183 new registrations in Tennessee so far this month, at least 2,144 came in the last 36 hours, an increase from the 2,811 voters who registered in September and 951 in August.
Tuesday, Oct. 9 marks the voter registration deadline for 19 states, which may have also contributed to the spike in registrations.
In an Instagram post Sunday, Swift, 28, endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, who is running against Republican nominee U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in a closely watched race.
President Donald Trump responded Monday by calling Blackburn “a tremendous woman.”
“I’m sure Taylor Swift doesn’t know anything about her,” Trump said. “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now.”