I first registered to vote when I was 17 1/2 years old, which means — let's just say that I've been on the voter rolls for a long time. I vote in every election, which I realize makes me a rare bird, but that also means that I keep up with my voter registration.
Lately, it seems like everywhere I turn, somebody is bombarding me with reminders to register to vote or to "check my voter registration." It's everywhere I look: Google's "doodle" on Tuesday included exhortations to register to vote in both English and Spanish. The old Windows laptop I'm having to use while my MacBook is in the shop has a clipboard and what's supposed to look like a voting button on one side of the search bar.
I learned that Tuesday is "Register to Vote Day" or some such holiday, but it's not just a one-day thing. For weeks, when I watch old shows from the '70s and '80s on free streaming services, the same ad telling me to register or check my voter registration pops up every commercial break — and an ad for Kamala often follows.
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A few weeks ago, I received a text from a conservative organization that I normally respect telling me that it didn't see my name on the voter rolls. The message went on to say that if I don't vote, all my neighbors will know. It sounded like a threat, and I thought of myself as Cornholio.
This is nothing compared to the social media onslaught. Every platform gives me periodic reminders that I need to register or check my registration. The only network that allowed me to turn off those notifications was Facebook, and even then there's a voter portal still embedded in the settings on the app and browser interface.
I'm not alone in noticing this. I stumbled on a Reddit discussion where users were talking about wishing they could turn off the notifications on Instagram, which might be the most egregious notifications of all of them since you have to respond to them to get them to disappear.
"It should be none of their business! commented one user. "It's not their responsibility what I do in politics!" Another said, "I feel like there should be an option that says 'I’m already registered' that makes it go away."
It's not difficult to imagine that the target audience for all of this voter registration push is low-information voters. I can't help but think that responsible citizens are aware of their voter registration status. I'm also probably looking at this through a jaundiced eye, but I'm also inclined to believe that these outlets don't really care if you're registered to vote if you're planning on voting Republican — in which case, they probably prefer that you sit this one out.
Since you're reading PJ Media, I bet I can guess one thing about you: you're not a low-information voter. You can open the door to even more information to arm yourself against the left when you become a PJ Media VIP.
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