Electoral Commission enlists Snapchat app to encourage young voters

The Electoral Commission has partnered up with social media app Snapchat in an attempt to prompt young voters to register for the local government elections.

The new voter registration ‘geofilter’ has been launched to remind users to register for the 4 May vote before the deadline on Monday 17 April and comes was research suggests young people are less likely to register than older voters.

The election will be the first Scotland-wide council elections that 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to vote in.

Only 69 per cent of 18-34 year-olds are correctly registered across Britain compared to 96 per cent of those aged 65 and over.

The new geofilter, or art overlay, can be added to images taken and shared through the Snapchat social network.

Andy O'Neill, head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland, commented: "Working with Snapchat gives us a fantastic opportunity to reach a typically under-registered audience and let young people in Scotland know that they can use their voice in these elections.

"However, they need to be registered by 17 April. It only takes a few minutes to register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote."

The commission is also working with social networks Facebook and Nextdoor to encourage voter registration.