Celebrities are reminding fans to register to vote via posting bikini pics on their Instagram accounts. But does posing provocatively actually get people to the polls, or is it just another stunt for clicks?
It’s actually more impactful than you might think. A recent bikini photo post from Kylie Jenner in which the media personality and entrepreneur asked her followers to register to vote by using the link in her bio prompted a 1,500 percent user increase on Vote.org’s website. The non-partisan site has been around since 2008 and has registered more than 4.5 million voters to date. And that number may continue to grow thanks to celebs with large and active fanbases.
“Celebrities definitely have a role to play and help us to meet voters where they are at, especially young voters,” Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey tells Yahoo Life. “Not every young American is politically active, so sometimes it takes a celebrity reminding them why their vote matters and the power voting has in deciding issues that matter to them.”
Others have been doing their part as well. Broad City’s Ilana Glazer, for example, created the hashtag #horny4thapolls to get people motivated to vote by using the power of celebrity sex appeal. Glazer’s call-out doesn’t include Vote.org’s site but rather cheat sheets for more progressive-learning voters, especially in states with tight races like Florida and Arizona.
A few other famous folks have emulated Glazer’s efforts, including actress and singer Zoe Kravitz, Lisa Rinna and model Tess Holiday. Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Gad, Sarah Silverman and other well-known comedians and actors also strip down in a separate video with the hashtag #NakedBallots that’s inspiring folks to fulfill their civic duty.
