Facebook today announced a massive Fourth of July voter registration drive reaching millions of people on Facebook. Facebook’s CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg posted on the news saying “Voting is voice. In a democracy, voting is the ultimate way we hold our leaders accountable and make sure the country is heading in the direction we want. I hope that this Independence Day, you'll consider registering to make sure your voice is heard.” 

It’s the first registration effort from Facebook quickly following their announcement on June 17 that the company is launching the largest voting information campaign in American history with a goal of registering 4 million voters and helping them get to the polls. This goal is double the estimated 2 million people we helped register in both 2018 and 2016.  

Everyone who’s voting age will see a notification at the top of their app with more information about how to register and a link to their state’s registration website (or a nonpartisan partner in states where it isn’t available online). Screenshots of the registration notifications can be found here. There will be more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger throughout the summer as registration deadlines get closer this fall. 

Facebook launched the upcoming Voting Information Center earlier this month as a one-stop shop for people to find accurate information from their state election officials about when and how to register and vote in the election. This effort will be even more important this cycle since the COVID crisis continues to present challenges to getting people registered and providing them accurate information about voting. Screenshots of the Voting Information Center can be found here. 

This is part of Facebook’s larger effort to help protect the 2020 elections by connecting more than 160 million people with reliable information about the election, fighting interference, stopping misinformation, and increasing transparency in political ads. You can read more about this work here: fb.com/about/elections