Dating apps urging users to register to vote

Dating apps are urging users to register to vote this year in between swiping for a romantic partner.

OkCupid this week rolled out a “Voter 2020” badge that users can add to their profile to show they are already registered.

If users answer the in-app question “are you registered to vote in the 2020 presidential election?” with a “no,” they will be directed to a new landing page offering them the chance to register.

OKCupid has partnered with Michelle Obama’s voter initiative, When We All Vote, to offer the registration process. OkCupid’s registered voters lean Democrat at 67 percent, the app said.

Tinder also has an in-app card inviting people to register to vote, launched earlier in August. It directs users who swipe right to a landing page where they can sign up.

Dating app users skew younger, including first-time voters, which makes these platforms a prime opportunity for voting appeals.

Nearly half of 18 to 29 year olds have used a dating app, according to a Pew Research Center poll taken pre-pandemic. Among people between ages of 30 and 49, 38 percent report using a dating app.

Match Group, which owns apps Tinder, OKCupid, Match and Plenty of Fish, reported an increase in subscribers and downloads after the pandemic was declared in March.

Not only are dating apps a good way to reach a key demographic of voters, dating apps say voting is becoming more important to the process of dating itself.

“Now more than ever, daters want to connect with people who share their values,” said Ariel Charytan, CEO at OkCupid. “Over the past few years, people on OkCupid have become more vocal about today’s leading issues — from climate change to voting rights. We have always empowered people to match on what matters to them, and our millions of daters across the United States overwhelmingly prioritize civic engagement when it comes to finding someone they are compatible with.”

According to OkCupid, users who say they are registered voters are 63 percent more likely to get a match and 85 percent more likely to receive a message on OkCupid. In addition, 500,000 people on OkCupid said they could not date someone who didn’t vote.