El próximo domingo 25 de mayo Facebook activará el botón ‘Voy a votar’ para ofrecer a sus seguidores la oportunidad de votar durante las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo. Al hacer clic en este botón, los usuarios pueden resaltar su condición de votante a sus amigos de Facebook, pero manteniendo su elección de voto y el partido en anonimato.

Facebook will be offering people the chance share that they’ve cast their ballot during the European Parliamentary elections. From May 22nd-25th Facebook will be rolling out the ‘I’m a Voter’ button to countries across the EU from midnight on their polling day. People in Spain will see the button when they log on to Facebook on May 25th. By clicking the button people can highlight their status as a voter to their Facebook friends but they don’t show which party their vote was cast for.

The ‘I’m a Voter’ button has previously been used in America during the last three US elections but has now been expended globally. It was recently used in the Indian elections where over 4 million Indian voters shared that they were a voter. With 42 per cent of the world’s population voting this year, the button will appear for people through the year in the Colombian elections, and for voters in South Korea, Indonesia, Sweden, Scotland, New Zealand, and Brazil. It will also appear again the US, during November’s midterm congressional elections.

The effort is one part of Facebook’s mission to make the world more open and connected by helping the people who use Facebook engage more easily with the leaders who make the decisions that affect their lives every day

Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s Government and Politics specialist in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:

«In 2013, elections were the second most talked about topic on Facebook globally. With more than one in three voters in the European Union connected to Facebook, the ‘I’m a Voter’ button is one of the most requested features we’ve received from political campaigners in Europe. We know from studies and research that when people see that their friends have voted on Facebook, they themselves are more likely to be motivated cast their ballot and participate in the political process.»

FACEBOOK &EU ELECTIONS (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)

Voters are on Facebook

Around the globe, voters are turning to Facebook to get information about candidates, debate public policy issues, and get the latest election news and information. Never before in history have this many people been connected on a single communications platform.

Voters are actively using Facebook: more than one in three eligible EU voters is on Facebook (+190m) and there are nearly as many people on Facebook in the EU as voted in the whole of 2009 EU election. These eligible voters are more engaged and more tech-savvy than the median Facebook user, with at least two-thirds accessing Facebook via web and mobile.

Over the past decade, voter’s participation to the EU elections has strongly declined, now at approx. 40% (EU average). Candidates and political parties should therefore seek to involve citizens in EU elections as much as possible by reaching them in the same spaces where they are actually spending their time. Social media provides a platform for politicians to engage in a direct, candid and open dialogue with voters.

There are efforts from EU institutions to get closer to citizens, e.g. the European Parliament’s campaign and presence on social media (over 1 million likes on Facebook page).Social media can help to bridge the gap between citizens actively seeking to connect to politicians and a political class that does not yet fully understand how to listen to these voices.
“Less than half of Europe turned out to vote in in the 2009 European elections. It’s clear that the challenge for politicians this time round will be how to connect with voters where and when it matters. The massive growth we have seen in social media platforms in the last five years provides candidates with an unprecedented opportunity to increase engagement with citizens and to convince them that Europe is worth voting for”. Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s Government and Politics Specialist for EMEA:

Some figures:

• In 2013, ‘elections’ were the second most talked about topic on our platform, behind only Pope Francis. And
• In 2014, there will be about 40 national elections around the world. A total of 42 percent of the world’s population – and a majority (52%) of people on Facebook – lives in countries that have an election this year
• According to a study published in the scientific journal Nature in September 2012, more than 300,000 people in the U.S. went to the polls after seeing a friend share on Facebook that they had voted in the 2010 elections. This increase in voter turnout can change the outcome of a close race, particularly in mid-term election years.
• Research from the European Union Institute for Security Studies shows that in the next few decades people will increasingly expect to participate in political decision-making. Compared with other Internet users, and users of other social networking platforms, an individual who uses Facebook multiple times per day was an additional two and a half times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting, 57% more likely to persuade someone on their vote, and an additional 43% more likely to have said they would vote.
Facebook tips for politicians:

In an era when people share and debate their political views online, the political leadership of Europe must join in and take a step closer to citizens. Of course, there is no one size fits all answer about how to talk to your electorate on Facebook. But politicians who follow the best practice steps below tend to have greater success:
• Start Early – Studies show that the earlier you connect with people, the faster you build trust. Early investment in social media pays off in closely fought polls.
• Be authentic – talk to people as you would in person
• Tailor content to your own style – People connect to people, especially on Facebook. An MEP officially represents a constituency, but have your own persona. Use Facebook in a way that reflects you.
• Become a publisher – Use Facebook to compliment your campaign by reaching your electorate directly alongside more traditional media outlets like print and broadcast
• Engage your audience – ask people for questions and respond (use the live Q&A tool)
• ; generate hashtags; get people to document how an issue affects them e.g. through photos. Create and co-create compelling content that shares a story and your message. Actively engaging on Facebook enables politicians to demonstrate a different image and style of communication from traditional media. It offers the ability to show more variety and the ability to focus on more of a variety of issues and stories.
• Use your page to encourage action – organize events, encourage people to register to vote, attend a meeting or share a message.
• Brush up on your page insights – Understand which of your constituents are most engaged with your posts, at what times of day, and what content interests the most.
• Be useful – Ask people what they are most interested in hearing about on your page. Consider what they think is actually useful information to receive from an MEP.
• Empower your supporters to campaign on your behalf – if people create content in your online space, their own contacts will know about it and may pick up on your messages at the same time.

Nota de la autora del blog: Esta publicación recoge íntegra la nota de prensa emitida por Facebook.