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Wisconsin voter registrations bumped by 1,300 after Taylor Swift's Harris endorsement

Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated
3 min read

More than 1,300 Wisconsinites registered to vote following Taylor Swift's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Vote.org numbers provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In an Instagram post shared after Tuesday night's presidential debate, Swift wrote that she "will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz."

"I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos," Swift wrote. "I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades."

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She also encouraged people to register to vote in her post.

"I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make," Swift wrote. "I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story."

Swift — who included a photograph of herself with Benjamin Button, one of her cats — signed the post, "Taylor Swift Childless Cat Lady," a reference to comments made by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance.

From 11 p.m. ET Tuesday through midday Thursday, the nonprofit Vote.org registered more than 52,000 voters nationally, including 1,350 in Wisconsin, according to numbers shared with the Journal Sentinel. Another 1,799 people verified their registration, Vote.org reported. Those numbers amount to a 47.5% increase in Wisconsin voter registrations via Vote.org, and a 94.3% increase in voters here verifying their registration status, the nonprofit said.

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"Taylor Swift's impact on voter engagement is undeniable. The important thing to remember is that Taylor's work serves as a model that everyone with a platform can use to encourage Americans to participate in civic engagement," Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey said in a statement. "At the heart of it all, every American is an influencer and can help people around them register, vote, and protect access to the ballot box."

In addition to those registering to vote, some 144,243 people verified their registration status during that same time period, CNN reported.

That's included thousands of registrations in swing states where, like in Wisconsin, razor-thin margins are expected.

Numbers provided by the Wisconsin Elections Commission show a significant spike in voter registrations since Tuesday, including 5,226 registrations on Wednesday and 10,537 on Thursday. That's about twice as many as the same two-day period last week, when 3,326 registered on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and 4,028 registered on Thursday, Sept. 5. But it's unclear how many of those were linked to Swift's endorsement, the presidential debate or other factors.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin voter registrations bumped 1,300 after Taylor Swift post

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