Facebook users in the UK will be reminded to register to vote tomorrow in a bid to increase turnout for the general election. The message, which could be seen by more than 35 million people, is the biggest voter registration campaign to ever take place in the UK. A prompt at the top of Facebook feeds will encourage people to register online with users also able to share the news with friends. A new “life event” on Facebook will tell other users when people have registered to vote. Similar schemes were used to encourage voters in the US and India. In the run-up to polling day Facebook will also be used to target 17-year-olds who turn 18 before the election. The Electoral Commission said the targeted advertising was part of an effort to get more young people on the electoral register.
The campaign forms part of Thursday’s national voter registration day and is a joint initiative between the Electoral Commission and Facebook.
Some 35 million people use Facebook in the UK every month, nearly six million more than voted in the last general election. A recent survey conducted by the Electoral Commission found that forty percent of people don’t know they can register to vote online.
Full Article: Facebook will ask you to vote in the general election (Wired UK).