HAVE YOU STILL NOT VOTED??? THIS INSULTING VOTING REMINDER TEXT BOT IS FOR YOU

With a week to go before election day, Fight for the Future is serving tough love to people who need a scornful push to vote via a series of insulting SMS messages.

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 28
Contact: press@fightforthefuture.org, 303-594-4321

As people are hearing lots of encouraging messages about voting, Fight for the Future has created a tool for those people who may need to hear a different message to make sure they vote: insultbot.org

People can sign up on the website or text INSULTME to 68788 to receive daily text messages reminding them to vote. Messages will increase in intensity and aggression through election day, until the recipient confirms they’ve voted.

“Let’s face it: voting is hard. And it’s even harder this year (because everything is harder. #2020),” said Caitlin Seeley George, Campaigns Director at Fight for the Future. “But it’s still absolutely critical for every eligible person to vote. So we’re providing this not-so-friendly reminder tool for those who just need to be poked again and again and again until they vote, and we’re bringing some snarky insults to make it a little different from what people are already hearing.”

While we’re seeing historic early voting numbers, and celebrities are getting creative with new ways to encourage voting, millions of eligible voters still haven’t cast their ballots. Young and new voters are particularly likely to not vote, in part because they haven’t established it as a habit. That’s why these types of reminders are critical. The more someone hears they need to do something the more likely they are to do it.

“While this approach of insulting people until they vote won’t work for everyone, we figure that there’s enough feel-good, hope-inspiring, and fear-inducing messaging out there that it’s time to try something different,” continued Seeley George. “If we can make a handful of people chuckle while they drop off their ballot, we’ll consider this a success.”

And as to who should sign up? Anyone who needs an extra nudge to remember to vote and doesn’t mind being called a sea cucumber or being cursed with incurable supercrabs should text INSULTME to 68788.

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