#voteIRL: Announcing YouTube’s get out the vote initiative and presidential debate live streams

At YouTube, we believe in giving everyone a voice. So this U.S. elections season, we’re committed to making sure that people--especially young people--use their voice by voting.

With November just around the corner, election-related content is exploding. Over 200,000 election videos have been uploaded to YouTube every day since the July Conventions and you’ve watched more than 110 million hours of candidate and issues-related content on YouTube.

But while people are clearly engaged with the election online, we want to make sure they get involved “in real life,” too. Today, we’re announcing YouTube’s get out the vote campaign, #voteIRL, where together with the YouTube creator community, we’re helping get young people to the polls. Check out our new #voteIRL anthem video featuring some of YouTube’s top talent, including Bethany Mota, Hannah Hart, Kingsley, Hank Green and more.

Did you know it only takes 1:34 to register to vote?¹ With voter registration deadlines looming in October, it’s fast and easy to register to vote using registration tools built by Google. Starting today, look out for familiar faces making 1:34 videos where they do anything from hosting their radio show (hey Ryan Seacrest) to doing their eyebrows, while encouraging their fans to go register. We teamed up with AwesomenessTV, Fullscreen, Machinima, and Maker Studios, so watch for more 1:34 videos every day until National Voter Registration Day.

In addition to the link above, you can also find voter registration tools directly on YouTube. Watch out for registration reminders on the homepage, watch page, and search results page on September 27, Voter Registration Day.

Voting requires you to get educated with the latest and greatest from the candidates. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re live streaming the presidential debates from more news organizations than ever before including NBC News, PBS, Fox News, The Washington Post, Univision, and Telemundo. You can also follow your favorite YouTube creators, including The Young Turks and Complex News, who will be on the ground reporting from the debates using YouTube Live directly from their phones.

Stay tuned to youtube.com/youtube and our social media channels as we release new videos, report from the presidential debates, and bring you closer to the election (and the polls) this November. And make sure you’re registered to vote!

Claire Stapleton, YouTube Elections team, recently watched "Maymo the Dog Runs for President: Maymo 2016."

1 We got a group at YouTube together and registered in every state and the average was just 1:34.