Facebook & EC to encourage youth to vote via first-ever voter registration

The Election Commission of India and Facebook have joined hands to conduct a campaign where newly eligible voters will be ‘reminded’ to register with the Election Commission.

As per the campaign, users who will turn 18 between now and December 31^st will be given a ‘birthday wish’ on their birthday encouraging them to register with the poll panel. Users who have already turned 18 will be given the reminder today, November 30^th.

“People use Facebook to learn about, talk about, and get involved with the issues that matter to them. We want to build products that support this type of civic engagement – on Election Day and every day. Since the beginning of this year, millions of people in India have used Facebook to engage on elections, whether it’s asking the candidates questions, sharing the latest news, or having a conversation about the issues with their friends and followers. Though our partnership with the Election Commission of India we hope to connect more people with the issues that matter to them, and build a more civically-engaged community”, said Nitin Saluja, Politics and Government Outreach Manager for India, South & Central Asia, in a statement.

The reminder will be in 13 different languages – English, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya. There will be a ‘Register Now’ option with the reminder, where the users will be directed to the National Voters’ Service Portal, and from there will be guided through the registration process.