Taylor Swift Harris-Walz endorsement, post on registering to vote bring surge of people to Vote.gov
Taylor Swift wants you to vote.
The global pop star has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee and sitting Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 election after months of speculation over when Swift would start talking politics once again.
In 2020, Swift backed President Joe Biden and Harris's bid for the White House over former President Donald Trump. That backing and Swift's appeal to her followers and fan base to register to vote made a notable increase in the number of younger people registering to vote. Today, Swift makes the same appeal on social media and now at the MTV VMAs for people to register and vote in the upcoming election.
Swift's four-paragraph endorsement encouraged her 283 million followers to do their own research ahead of the election this fall and to vote.
"I've done my research, and I've made my choice," she wrote on Instagram. "Your research is all your's to do, and the choice is yours to make."
During election seasons, Swift has been a vocal supporter and encouraged people to register and go out to vote for who they believe to be the right candidate for them and it has shown that her voice holds more power than to just entertain millions.
Vote.gov sees uptick after Taylor Swift encourages people to vote
Just 24 hours after Swift's social media post, Vote.gov, which helps people register to vote, saw more than 337,000 people using the voter registration link Swift shared with her social media posts, according to federal officials.
In 2023, more than 35,000 people registered to vote after Swift posted on social media for National Voter Registration Day, encouraging her fans to register themselves to vote.
According to reports from Axios, an April report from libertarian political think tank the Beacon Center, 37% of registered Tennessee voters considered themselves fans of Swift. Of that group, 12% said if the "Bad Blood" singer endorsed a candidate, they would be more likely to vote for that candidate.
When did Taylor Swift endorse Kamala Harris-Tim Walz?
Shortly after the debate wrapped on Sept. 10, Swift posted to Instagram about her decision to vote for Harris-Walz in November.
Taylor Swift talks AI-generated images used by Trump, takes jab at JD Vance
In her post, the "Tortured Poets Society" singer acknowledged Trump's use of AI-generated images depicting her endorsing him. Trump's post consisted of AI-generated images mixed with actual images of Taylor Swift and Swifties with messages like, "Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump," with a generated image of Swift as Uncle Sam, and a "Swifties for Trump" message.
It was that instance that made her realize she needed to be clear about her actual plans for the election, she wrote.
As a final jab at the Republican nominee's running mate JD Vance, Swift signed off the post labeling herself a "Childless Cat Lady," referring to Vance's now-viral comments about people who don't have children.
USA Today contributed to this report.