Facebook to bring young voters to booth, collaborates with ECI

New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, the Election Commission of India is partnering with social media platform Facebook in five poll-bound states to run a voter registration drive which will be aimed at encouraging the country's youth to take part in the democratic exercise.

“For the first time in India, ECI is collaborating with FB in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand to run a voter registration drive,” said Radha Raturi, the Chief Electoral Officer.

With at least 155 million FB users in India, the ‘Register to Vote’ option is designed to encourage the citizens of the five states to cast their votes in the upcoming elections.

Other highlights:

• Between October 6 and 9, FB users and residents of the five states who are above 18 years of age will be reminded for voter registration through their News Feed.
• They will be directed to the National Voters’ Services Portal by hitting the ‘Register Now’ button and will be walked through the registration process.
• The feature will be available for residents of Punjab on October 6, Manipur on October 8, Uttarakhand and UP on October 8 and Goa on October 9.

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