Tag Archives: #voteIRL

Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.

Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.

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For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters register and explained the voting process with information on how to vote, who’s on their ballot, and how to find their local polling place in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:

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Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from NBC, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo and The Young Turks to keep up with all of the action as it happens. Complex News will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s #voteIRL campaign, creators and fans have been posting their #voteIRL selfie to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring POTUS and some familiar-looking furry friends.

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Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.

And one last thing: don’t forget to vote. It matters.

Posted by Shashi Thakur, VP Engineering, Google Search

Source: YouTube Blog


With nearly 2 million concurrent viewers and over 3 million live watch hours, first presidential debate breaks political record

Last night's debate marked the largest political live stream of all time and was one of the biggest live streams in YouTube history. This record-breaking political stream garnered nearly 2 million live concurrent viewers and 3 million live watch hours across the six news organizations that streamed the debate on YouTube.

To put these numbers into context, we took a look at 2012 debate viewership on YouTube. Compared to 2012, last night's debate had 14x larger live viewership, 5x higher watch time, and 4x more peak concurrent viewers. And views on all debate-related videos exceeded 88 million.

Of course YouTube is a global community and people in the U.S. weren’t the only ones watching. Here are the top five countries, in descending order, outside of the U.S. that tuned in live:

  1. Canada
  2. Mexico
  3. Argentina
  4. Australia
  5. New Zealand

And remember, today is Voter Registration Day and YouTube creators along with The Rock, Conan, Bill Maher, and The Chainsmokers want you to head to the polls and #voteIRL.

Up next we’ll see you live from the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, October 4.

Kurt Wilms, Product Lead, Live Streaming at YouTube, recently watched "Fastest Skateboarder Ever!"

Source: YouTube Blog


Watch tonight’s presidential debate live stream on YouTube — and don’t forget to #voteIRL

With 42 days remaining, voters across the U.S. are gearing up for this year’s presidential election -- and tonight they’ll be able to watch the first presidential debate live on YouTube!

We announced last week that more news organizations than ever before are live streaming this major political event on YouTube. Have your choice and tune-in to your favorite news channel starting at 9:00 p.m. ET tonight. Here is where you can watch live on YouTube:


Can’t decide on one stream? Check out youtube.com/news to follow all of the live coverage.

You can also join The Young Turks and Complex News on the ground reporting from the debate using YouTube Live directly from their phones.

And don’t forget, tomorrow is National Voter Registration day and YouTube creators want you to head to the polls and #voteIRL. Tune in to this playlist to see how you can register to vote in the amount of time it takes Ryan Seacrest to host a radio show or The Fung Bros to shoot hoops. Surprising fact: it only takes one minute and 34 seconds!

Brandon Feldman, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched "How to Vote in Every State."

Source: YouTube Blog


#voteIRL: Announcing YouTube’s get out the vote initiative and presidential debate live streams

At YouTube, we believe in giving everyone a voice. So this U.S. elections season, we’re committed to making sure that people--especially young people--use their voice by voting.

With November just around the corner, election-related content is exploding. Over 200,000 election videos have been uploaded to YouTube every day since the July Conventions and you’ve watched more than 110 million hours of candidate and issues-related content on YouTube.

But while people are clearly engaged with the election online, we want to make sure they get involved “in real life,” too. Today, we’re announcing YouTube’s get out the vote campaign, #voteIRL, where together with the YouTube creator community, we’re helping get young people to the polls. Check out our new #voteIRL anthem video featuring some of YouTube’s top talent, including Bethany Mota, Hannah Hart, Kingsley, Hank Green and more.



Did you know it only takes 1:34 to register to vote?1 With voter registration deadlines looming in October, it’s fast and easy to register to vote using registration tools built by Google. Starting today, look out for familiar faces making 1:34 videos where they do anything from hosting their radio show (hey Ryan Seacrest) to doing their eyebrows, while encouraging their fans to go register. We teamed up with AwesomenessTV, Fullscreen, Machinima, and Maker Studios, so watch for more 1:34 videos every day until National Voter Registration Day.

In addition to the link above, you can also find voter registration tools directly on YouTube. Watch out for registration reminders on the homepage, watch page, and search results page on September 27, Voter Registration Day.



Voting also requires you to get educated with the latest and greatest from the candidates. That’s why we’re also excited to announce that we’re live streaming the presidential debates from more news organizations than ever before including PBS, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Telemundo. You can also follow your favorite YouTube creators, including The Young Turks and Complex News, who will be on the ground reporting from the debates using YouTube Live directly from their phones.

Stay tuned to youtube.com/youtube and our social media channels as we release new videos, report from the presidential debates, and bring you closer to the election (and the polls) this November. And make sure you’re registered to vote!

Claire Stapleton, YouTube Elections team, recently watched "Maymo the Dog Runs for President: Maymo 2016."

1 We got a group at YouTube together and registered in every state and the average was just 1:34.

Source: YouTube Blog