Former President Barack Obama is being featured in public-service announcements from Snapchat aimed at encouraging first-time and younger voters to register to vote via a new in-application tool that enables them to do so.

Snap Inc. said it is a nonpartisan, multi-week public awareness effort that will also focus on helping younger voters learn about the issues and candidates and ensure that they cast their votes, either in-person or by mail.

Upcoming PSAs will feature former Ohio Gov. and Republican presidential nominee John Kasich and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

They will be joined by athletes, celebrities, influencers and musicians, and Snap said those who have already begun encouraging Snapchatters to use the new tool through their Snapchat Stories include Quincy Brown, Catherine McBroom and Snoop Dogg.

Snap said it released the Obama PSA in anticipation of National Voter Registration Day Sept. 22, noting that Snapchat reaches more people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the U.S. than Facebook, Instagram and Messenger From Facebook combined, and that 80% of the 100 million Snapchatters in the U.S. are of voting age, 18 or older.

Other election-related initiatives from Snap include a voter guide featuring content from the ACLU, APIAVote, I Am a Voter, the NAACP and Voto Latino, as well as a feature that enables users to craft their plan to vote, including the ability to request mail-in ballots directly through the app.

For the 2018 midterm elections in the U.S., Snapchat helped over 450,000 users register to vote, with 57% of them actually following through and going to the polls.

https://www.adweek.com/digital/barack-obama-stars-in-snapchat-psa-aimed-at-younger-and-first-time-voters/