As one of most-followed people on Instagram, Selena Gomez understands the value of her platform. Case in point: Today (November 3) is Election Day, and Gomez spend a portion of the day encouraging her followers to vote, getting her message out in a series of Instagram Stories. Of course, the fact that it is indeed Election Day means that it’s too late for mail-in ballots, so Gomez turned her focus on getting the word about in-person voting.
“I know that many of you have voted, and I’m so proud and I’m so happy that you did, but there is plenty of other people who haven’t, and I think they don’t plan to,” she said. “Please don’t use mail-in ballots. Please vote in person at this point, if you can, especially in my hometown in Texas, and Pennsylvania, and Florida.”
“Your voice matters,” she continued. “So many people think that it doesn’t matter, but other elections have been this close before, so you have to understand that your voice does matter, and it’s so important.”
Last week, Gomez used her platform for a wide-ranging conversation with Senator Kamala Harris, currently the Vice Presidential pick on Joe Biden’s Democratic ticket. In a clip she shared to her Instagram page, Gomez talks with Harris about voting and mental health — something she’s been candid about for years now. She also promoted making a voting plan, a refrain heard a lot amid the ongoing pandemic and threats of voter suppression plaguing this particular election cycle, with the nonprofit organization When We All Vote. Also on Tuesday, she had a conversation with Stacey Abrams about what the future of the country could look like after this particular election.
Gomez herself shared a photo filling out her ballot on October 22. She joins a chorus of fellow celebs telling folks to get out there to the ballots, including Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Lizzo, and more.