What can you do that will matter? Lots, actually.
We’ve got about two weeks to go until the election, and the emails in my inbox are filled with every emotion under the sun. There’s hope, but also fear. There’s enthusiasm, but also terror. There’s humor and there’s ennui, aggression and tenderness.
But as the co-author of the political self-help book Democracy in Retrograde and with an online audience of nearly 200,000 followers, the one question I get every day is: What can I do in the next 15 days that will actually matter?
Here’s the fundamentals: This election is probably going to be decided by the swing voters in seven states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina). And a recent New York Times poll reported that 18 percent of American voters haven’t decided who they’re going to vote for.
Right now, social media influencers are your besties right in your phone — and in 2024, this makes them one of the most powerful forces in politics. In fact, I was one of 200 influencers invited to the DNC as part of a first-of-its-kind program that credentialed influencers the same way they credential mainstream media.
Some mainstream media outlets got frustrated that the 200 online influencers were invited, but I think it was a smart move. Over half of U.S. adults get their news from social media at least some of the time. Lots of my followers told me that they had never paid attention to the DNC before, but because I was there, they were excited to follow along on my journey.
Recent polling of the people who follow my @emilyinyourphone account found that:
- 98% visit Instagram daily
- 82% frequently get political information from social media, as compared to 7% who frequently get it from cable news
- 63% are influenced by the candidates themselves when it comes to deciding how to vote, but influencers (37%) are just as influential as political commentators (40%) and news media professionals (35%)
Celebrities have long been used as surrogates by campaigns, and they’ve gotten their fair share of criticism for that. But people have also gotten used to celebs using their voices to support the issues they believe in, and many of them can have an outsized impact. For example, Taylor Swift was able to drive 35,000 new voter registrations after her online endorsement of Harris, and a call to action directing her followers to VisitVote.org. We’re used to seeing stars like Jason Sudeikis, Bruce Springsteen, Eva Longoria, and Kerry Washington on stage alongside politicians, because we understand the political advantage of platforming charismatic personalities speaking out on the values and candidates they support, even if the value of those endorsements can’t always be quantified.
I would argue that social-media influencers can be even more influential than celebrities these days. To their fans and followers, celebrities often feel untouchable — they live in a different universe than you do. But influencers feel like friends, and the “parasocial relationships” their followers develop with them are certainly real. You get to witness almost every aspect of influencers’ lives on the small screens in your hands, making them feel more authentic and giving them more sway than the Scarlett Johanssons of the world.
But back to those undecided voters: I get asked all the time about how to reach them. Who are they? Can I change their minds? The answers are: They might be the last person you suspect, and yes! You can change their minds.
This election isn’t going to come down to random door-knocking or last-minute television ads. It’s coming down to influence — mine and yours. Think of it this way: If you’re looking for a restaurant recommendation and you see some ads online, you might be swayed, but if your friend says that you have to try that new sushi place, you’ll probably make a point to go. When you have a pre-established relationship with someone, you’re able to reach them via personalized, persuasive information.
At the end of the day, while public figures clearly have an impact, conversations between people who know each other are the most powerful tool to get people to vote, and research shows that a text from a friend increases the likelihood of voting by over 8 percent. Because everyone is an influencer to someone.
But many people I know are unsure how to start a conversation about voting, or what to say after it gets started. That’s why I’ve been working on a platform called Ripple, which provides sample text messages that participants can send to their family and friends to talk about what’s at stake this election. That way, all of us can start engaging with the undecided voters in our lives over text messages and DMs, the ways many of us communicate these days.
We’ve made easy and explanatory scripts for all the states. It takes 5 minutes for participants to add a friend or family member on Ripple, match their contact with the national voter file, and get personalized text message scripts to share with their contact about what’s on their ballot.
There are so many important and competitive races all across the country this year — from the White House to the majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to abortion ballot initiatives in 10 states and competitive gubernatorial and state legislative districts. Ripple’s scripts give you a guide to talk about a specific race in a state you might not be familiar with. For example, if one of your contacts lives in Arizona and tells you they want to know more about the abortion ballot initiative, Ripple has a script for that. (There’s also a script to give you and your contact some basic information about the Arizona Senate race.)
Texting or DMs over Instagram are also more private ways to communicate. I’ve spoken to a lot of women recently who are quietly breaking ranks with how their husbands are voting. They may not want to have a conversation out loud about how to vote at a dinner party, but know they will be alone and empowered at the voting booth — and that texts or DMs are safe ways to reach them.
When it comes to this election, we are all influencers, no matter how many people follow us on Facebook or Instagram. And there’s so much we can do in the next two weeks that can help move the political needle, in about five minutes a day. That’s the kind of engagement we need right now.
Emily Amick is a lawyer, journalist, and political analyst who served as counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. She is the author of the NYT bestselling book Democracy in Retrograde and creator of @EmilyInYourPhone.
