How To Register To Vote & Add Voting Stickers On Tinder

Tinder is gearing up for Election Day (Nov. 8, 2022, BTW), and the app’s newest feature is helping its users do the same. Ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, Tinder teamed up with BallotReady (an organization that works to bring transparency to voting) to introduce Election Center to its interface. The goal? Make voting simple. OK, so that sounds great, but how exactly does it work? Here’s how to use Tinder’s Election Center for better — aka more informed — voting habits.

Election Center is designed to take some of the guesswork out of voting, just like the app does for dating. Tinder users can access the new feature via the Explore page. Once they’re there, they’ll find resources on registering to vote, finding polling stations, and a straightforward breakdown on their local ballots. The center also offers a timeline of important dates: when you need to send your mail-in ballot, when early voting starts, etc. Plus, it’s giving Tinder users a way to show what voting means to them. With this new feature, users can add an “I Voted” sticker to their profile.

Voting and dating might not seem like they necessarily go together, but the numbers tell a different story. In a 2016 survey conducted by Match, 27% of singles said they would not date someone who did not vote. Since then, that number has shot up. According to Tinder, a recent study revealed that 47% of young singles say that not voting is a dealbreaker.

That upswing only makes sense. Though political talk might once have been seen as a dating faux pas, it’s become more and more common to talk about political beliefs and civic engagement as a way to learn about your date’s values. Political compatibility matters — maybe now more than ever.

So we’ve established that voting is in, but that doesn’t make the process any less convoluted. You can’t just swipe right or left on candidates (at least, not yet). Instead, there are a lot of roadblocks that make voting — and the democratic process in general — tricky to navigate. Per Tinder’s report, during a recent poll, the app found that 63% of singles ages 18 to 25 said that ballots were overwhelming. Meanwhile, 70% said that the “voting process should be easier to understand.”

By working with BallotReady, Tinder is addressing these issues to make voting as easy as possible. “Many young singles don’t feel properly informed on key issues in these midterm elections, and we want to do something about that,” Melissa Hobley, CMO at Tinder, explained in a statement about the new feature. “Tinder’s partnership with BallotReady is a meaningful way for our members to easily get involved, informed and show off their civic pride to potential matches.”

Happy voting (and swiping), y’all!