Taylor Swift‘s fans, or “Swifties,” might be dragging their feet to the voting booth.
What Happened: A new Morning Consult survey of registered voters showed that many Swift fans might not vote in the 2024 presidential election. This could make an advocacy campaign from the singer important for the general election and a potential boost for President Joe Biden, whom Swift endorsed in 2020.
In the survey, 13% of voters said they were avid Swift fans and 37% said they were casual fans of the singer.
Around two-thirds of avid Swift fans said they would like the singer to endorse Biden for the 2024 election.
The survey found that of the Swift fans polled 18 to 34, only 51% said they would definitely vote in the 2024 election. Of all Swift fans polled, 66% said they would definitely vote in the 2024 election.
Biden received votes from 54% of those surveyed in the poll that voted in the 2020 election, with 25% voting for former President Donald Trump and 1% voting third-party. A total of 20% surveyed said they didn't vote in the 2020 election.
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Why It's Important: Swift has been linked as a potential endorsement for Biden for months. Her encouraging fans to get out and vote could give Biden a much-needed boost heading into the 2024 election.
In September, on National Voter Registration Day, Swift posted to her Instagram stories encouraging her fans to register to vote.
"I've been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my U.S. shows recently. I've heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you're ready to use them in our elections this year!" Swift said, as shared by NPR.
Swift's post was non-partisan and included a link to the voter registration at Vote.org.
A total of 35,252 people registered to vote on the 2023 voter registration effort holiday. This marked the most on National Voter Registration since 2020. The figure was up 23% from the previous year. The number of 18-year-old voters doubled from 2022 during the 2023 campaign.
It’s unknown how many of the registrations Swift was directly responsible for. But the Vote.org website saw a 1,226% jump in site visits in the hour after Swift's Instagram story.
A Swift endorsement of Biden also clearly upsets Trump.
"I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will," said Trump in a Sunday Truth Social post.
One of the attorneys behind the Music Modernization Act clapped back at the claim.
"Trump did nothing on our legislation except sign it, and doesn't even know what the Music Modernization Act does,” Dina LaPolt told Variety. “Someone should ask him what the bill actually accomplished."
The act, which Trump signed in 2018, was supported unanimously by Congress.
Trump supporters have even gone so far as to say that Swift’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was a conspiracy and that the Chiefs victory was scripted with a tweet saying "just like we drew it up" shortly after Super Bowl LVIII.
Even if Swift doesn't endorse Biden between now and the November election, a post on National Voter Registration Day 2024 — which is Sept. 17 — could inspire more people to head to the polls. Swift has over 95 million followers on Twitter and over 280 million followers on Instagram. She ranks eighth and fifteenth respectively for number of followers.
While Trump supporters have attacked Swift and some fans are upset that she might endorse Biden, musicians endorsing candidates or helping with voter registration campaigns in nothing new.
Rock the Vote launched in the 1990s. It included a partnership with music media company MTV to encourage young voters to register to vote.
In 2004, the Vote for Change Tour saw several musicians play in swing states and register fans to vote while also performing concerts. The campaign was non-partisan, but featured many musicians who encouraged fans to vote for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.
The tour included names like Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, Jackson Browne, The Chicks, James Taylor, John Mellencamp and Pearl Jam.
Image: Shutterstock, edited with Canva
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