Do you know someone who lives in the state of Washington and needs to register to vote? Does that person have a Facebook account?
The Secretary of State for the state of Washington recently announced that residents of Washington will soon be able to go to the state’s Facebook page and register to vote.
Here is a quote from the press release:
“In this age of social media and more people going online for services, this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered,” said Shane Hamlin, co-director of elections.
For those concerned about privacy and Facebook getting access to their personal information, Hamlin goes on to say:
“Facebook doesn’t have access to the state’s database; its page just overlays the application…beyond giving Facebook permission to use names and dates of birth, voters don’t need to worry about their personal information being collected by Facebook.”
Here is a link to the entire story as it appeared in the July 17 issue of the Orange County Register: And thanks to my friend Peter Martin for posting this story on LinkedIn, which is how I heard about it.
In my 20s and 30s I was very active with the League of Women Voters, and I continue to be a member and supporter of the League. Plus I am passionate about voting. Anything that can streamline the process of registering to vote has my full fledged support.
So, this concept of offering registration through a Facebook Page makes a lot of sense to me.
Yet, I imagine this concept has its detractors.
What do you think about this idea?
Joyce Feustel, Founder
Boomers’ Social Media Tutor
www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com
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