Facebook is on a mission to get four million Americans registered to vote by Election Day on November 3. So far, the company reports that it has made significant progress on that goal with more than 2.5 million Americans registered through Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
"Certainly, it's the most complex election I've ever experienced," Emily Dalton Smith, director of social impact product at Facebook, told Cheddar. "So we're really focused on making sure everybody in the U.S. who's eligible has the information they need."
Facebook and Instagram users can head to the site's Voter Information Center to look into the registration process, or even volunteer at the polls.
The sites give people "a one-stop-shop they can go to anytime they have a question or want to learn how they can vote," Smith said.
Facebook is raising the bar from its past voter registration efforts. The company says it helped two million Americans register and turn out to vote in both 2016 and 2018.
With Tuesday designated as National Voter Registration Day, the social media giant is ramping up efforts now more than ever, providing clear alerts at the top of its most popular apps.
"We're running drives at the top of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger apps this week giving people information on how to vote right at the top of the apps," Smith said.
While Facebook does collect data on its users' specific political learnings, Smith said that the company isn't focused on whether it's helping liberals or conservatives register to vote.
"That's a really personal decision, and we want to make sure that people are empowered to make that decision and make their voice heard," Smith said. "Who they vote for is up to them. We just want to make sure that they get out and vote."
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
