Gara-gara Taylor Swift Jumlah Pemilih di AS Naik

 

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! ????????????

Sebuah kiriman dibagikan oleh Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) pada 7 Okt 2018 jam 4:33 PDT

Pelantun lagu Blank Space itu percaya, Blackburn juga menentang kelompok LGBT dan hak kaum sesama jenis untuk mendapat pengakuan pernikahan.

"Itu bukan nilai-nilai di Tennessee, saya akan memilih Phil Bredesen untuk senat dan Jim Cooper untuk parlemen," sebut dia.

Menurut kelompok advokasi pemilih Vote.org, postingan Instagram Taylor Swift yang memiliki 12 juta follower itu, memberi dampak pada 65 ribu orang yang mendaftarkan diri untuk menjadi pemilih, dalam waktu 24 jam.

Sebab selama bulan September ini jumlah yang mendaftar untuk menjadi pemilih di seluruh Amerika masih berkisar 200 ribu orang. Namun sejak postingan Swift itu, sudah ada sekitar 166 ribu orang mendaftar selama bulan Oktober, dengan lebih dari 40 persen diantaranya berusia antara 18 sampai 24 tahun.

"Kami tidak pernah melihat peningkatan yang luar biasa dalam waktu 24, 36 atau 48 jam seperti ini." kata juru bicara Vote.org Kamari Gurthrie kepada harian The New York Times, Selasa (9/10).

"Ini peningkatan luar biasa yang tidak pernah kami lihat sebelumnya," lanjutnya.

Peningkatan pendaftaran pemilih juga tampak jelas di negara bagian asal Swift, Tennessee. Di mana lebih dari 5 ribu orang sudah mendaftar di bulan Oktober sejauh ini, dengan separuh diantaranya mendaftar dalam waktu 36 jam terakhir, sementara di bulan September hanya 2.811 yang mendaftar.