EU asks Taylor Swift to encourage young people to vote in upcoming elections

"No one can mobilize youth better than young people," said the vice president of the European Commission during a press appearance.

Imagen de Taylor Swift durante el photocall que tuvo lugar en la 81ª edición de los Globos de Oro celebrados el 7 de enero de 2024. — (Cordon Press)

Published by

Rosana Rábago Sainz

12 de enero, 2024

Topics:

The European Union asked Taylor Swift for a curious favor this Wednesday. European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas asked the artist to encourage young Europeans to vote in the upcoming elections that will take place in June, where nearly 400 million people will be called to the polls.

"No one can mobilize youth better than young people. It’s young people who can mobilize young people to participate, more than commissioners," began Schinas, who, shortly after, showed that he already had a person in mind to fulfill this role, American pop star Taylor Swift.

The vice president recalled that the artist would soon take her Eras Tour to several countries in the European Union, ensuring that it would be a good time for the singer to act as an ambassador and encourage young people to vote, as she did recently during the U.S. midterms:

Just to give you an example: Taylor Swift, last September—she made a social media call to young Americans to register to vote. The day after her post, 35,000 young Americans had registered to vote. Taylor Swift will be in Europe in May. I very much hope that she does the same for young Europeans and I very much hope that someone from her media team follows this press conference and relays this request to her.

Taylor Swift would receive 8% of votes if she ran for president

Swift's popularity is undoubtable. Time magazine named her Person of the Year in 2023, and her music is among the most played on all online streaming platforms. Further, her tour has been a success wherever she has gone.

The situation has reached such a level that, in August last year, a survey by Emerson College showed that the artist would get 8% of the votes if she participated in the 2024 presidential elections with former President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Ten percent of those consulted stated that they were undecided. The study noted that Swift is viewed favorably by 43% of voters, while 38% are neutral and 19% have an unfavorable opinion.

"The Swift test suggests that Biden’s support is softer than Trump’s, whose support is more locked-in," said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.