Taylor Swift's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election has spurred a remarkable increase in voter registration. After Swift shared a post on Instagram linking to the registration site Vote.gov on September 10—just after the presidential debate between Harris and Donald Trump—the response was overwhelming. In a mere 24 hours, nearly half a million users clicked through the link, according to reports from CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister and Betsy Klein. Specifically, they noted that 405,999 visitors were referred to the voter registration site by Swift's account, indicating a dramatic uptick compared to the usual average of about 30,000 daily users.
Tom Bonier, a senior advisor at data firm TargetSmart, highlighted the unprecedented nature of this surge. He revealed that voter registration increased by an astonishing 9,000 to 10,000 individuals per hour following Swift's post, estimating the overall rise in registrations to be between 400% and 500%. Bonier commented, "It's really unlike anything I've seen."
The political sphere also reacted to Swift's endorsement, with Donald Trump claiming that Swift may face repercussions for her public endorsement, describing her as "a very liberal person." This statement marks a departure from Swift's earlier endorsement of Biden during the 2020 election.
In addition to her advocacy for voter registration, Swift has emphasized the importance of informed voting and awareness against misinformation. This comes in response to misleading AI-generated images falsely indicating her support for Trump's campaign. Following her endorsement, Swift attended the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won seven out of ten nominated awards. This achievement underscores her significant influence not only in the music industry but also in the political discourse surrounding the upcoming election.