(The Hill) — More than 405,000 visitors have flocked to vote.gov by way of pop superstar Taylor Swift’s postdebate endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the General Services Administration (GSA).
“There were a total of 405,999 visitors referred to vote.gov from the custom URL created and shared by Ms. Swift during the 24 hour period the post was live,” a spokesperson told NewsNation parent company Nexstar.
The 14-time Grammy winner issued her much-anticipated endorsement minutes after the showdown between Harris and former President Trump, posting to her 283 million Instagram followers. She said she’s casting her ballot for Harris “because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them” and contended the country should be “led by calm and not chaos.”
Swift also pushed back against fake images that had circulated online — some shared by Trump — purporting to show her pledging support for the Republican nominee. The megastar signed off the post as a “childless cat lady,” a dig at Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance’s controversial remarks attacking Harris and other Democrats.
“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice,” Swift wrote. “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered!”
Harris is fundraising off the “Anti-Hero” singer’s backing, while Trump has said Swift may “pay a price for it in the marketplace.” Vance downplayed the potential impacts.
Speculation has been swirling for months about whether Swift would weigh in on the presidential race. The “Miss Americana” star boasts a massive following of young people, who have appeared galvanized by Harris’s fast-tracked bid and are expected to play a pivotal role in November.
She endorsed Democrats in the 2018 midterms and supported the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020, and she’s said she regretted not speaking up in the 2016 presidential race, when Trump won the White House.
Vote.gov offers details on voting rights, requirements and registration but does not directly register voters. In the past, Swift has directed her millions of followers to Vote.org, a nonprofit to which she’s helped drive record traffic.
