Today is Election Day in the United States, which means it’s a day set aside specifically for the act of voting. And yet, voting in the US is often more difficult than it could be. Polling places around the country have reported extremely long lines and instances of machines on the fritz. On top of that, voter suppression is a very real threat; Reuters recently obtained emails that proved Republicans in North Carolina were attempting to limit the availability of polling places in locations that leaned Democratic. So, in an effort to make things run a little more smoothly, Hillary Clinton’s campaign team just launched a “digital hotline” where voters can ask questions on Twitter, Facebook, and via text, Wired reports.
More than 50 staffers and volunteers, as well as voting rights lawyers, will be available all day today to answer questions, according to Wired. People can tweet at the @HFA Twitter account, post on the Hillary Clinton Facebook page, or text “question” to 47246.
Wired reports that the campaign claims it has had around 70,000 interactions with voters through the hotline since it launched on November 1st. A quick scroll through the Twitter account shows mostly interactions with people complaining about long lines or ballot issues, but Clinton’s digital outreach director admitted to Wired there was still “a lot of noise” from trolls on these platforms.
@pattonoswalt Awesome, thanks so much for your support! We'll definitely look into this! - Dan
The hotline team is also searching Twitter and Facebook for specific terms like “ballot” and “long lines” to see where they can help, according to Wired. The hotline is open to all voters — not just Clinton supporters.
IN THIS STORYSTREAM
Election Day 2016
- Brexit 2.0Nov 9, 4:04am EST
- Clinton campaign launches ‘digital hotline’ where users can text or tweet Election Day questionsNov 8, 1:11pm EST
- Donald Trump getting booed in his backyard is the 2016 election's moment of zenNov 8, 12:50pm EST
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