September 22nd was National Voter Registration Day, marked by registration drives and campaigns all across the nation. With the ever-changing political climate in the United States, many organizations and influential members of the public have been using social media to drive voter registration to an all-time high. 

Recently, Forbes reported that former Vine star and Internet vlogger, David Dobrik, held a voter registration drive with an incentive for four people to win a brand new Tesla. Dobrik is a DACA recipient and said it was his inability to vote in the election that drove his motive to get more citizens to vote. Dobrik partnered with HeadCount, a company that works with other celebrities such as singers Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. More notably, Lincoln-Sudbury alum and actor Chris Evans launched a new bi-partisan website, A Starting Point. He used his place in the spotlight to urge his followers to vote in the upcoming November 3rd election. His site includes a forum for lawmakers to address voters in 2-minute clips. 

Celebrity influence in today’s ever-changing world is important. Are people more likely to make decisions when they see a recognizable face with the cause? I interviewed LS staff and students, and all were in agreement that when an influential person or organization uses their platform, it has a profound effect. Junior Joey Schmidt Gross said, “we’re all looking up to someone and I know that if my idol said ‘go and vote for this person’, I’d probably consider it more because I look up to them.” 

Teaching assistant Kevin Kroesen mentioned that the NBA and NFL had started voting campaigns and that when such large organizations make statements, their followers are bound to listen. It will be interesting to see how social media activism plays out on election day and in future elections.