The Democratic National Committee is launching a text line Tuesday to help people with voting questions, aiming to reach voters where they are — on their phones — when they need help with the voting process in the 49 days leading up to Election Day.
Ahead of National Voter Registration Day, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison told NBC News that the effort is specifically aimed at helping young people move through the voting process.
“Every voter deserves to be heard and vote for the future they want to see, which is why we’ve invested millions in our I Will Vote program and launched a new text hotline to inform young voters in real time. Information and live support right on their phones until Election Day,” said Harrison.
The text line is monitored by DNC staff and volunteers who can respond in real-time via text if users have questions about any stage of the voting process. These questions can range from how to register to vote to how to detect or address poll worker misconduct.
Any voter, regardless of party affiliation, can use the service. The DNC said the information they share is nonpartisan, even though it’s run by a party committee.
“This November is the most important election of our lifetime, and we want every voter to make their voice heard,” Harrison said.
Harrison says the DNC is making it “easier than ever” for voters to get the information they need to exercise their right to vote.
Since the 2020 election, the DNC has invested more than $30 million to expand the I Will Vote initiative. The text line is the latest feature for voter assistance, but the app already had a voter information hotline in English and Spanish, as well as a website that featured important state voting information, such as important local dates and deadlines, as well as things like voting. ID requirements.
According to the DNC, its hotline has received more than 17,000 calls in both English and Spanish since the 2024 presidential election cycle began. Since 2020, the effort has made more than 150,000 calls.
Before primaries in states like Nevada and Michigan earlier this year, the DNC ran an ad directing young voters, voters of color and rural voters to IWillVote.com to find information on how and where to vote based on their location.
The DNC’s team for this effort includes more than 12,700 volunteers across the country, who will take on a variety of roles, including hotline volunteers and voting observers.
Laura Estersohn, 70, volunteer hotline coordinator, a volunteer for the phone program, recruits and trains volunteers to make sure the hotline works and makes sure volunteers have the tools they need to answer questions accurately.
“As an educator, I wanted to make sure that Americans, especially young Americans, knew how to vote and exercised their right to vote,” Estersohn, a retired high school math teacher, told NBC News. He likes the idea of the new text line because it will “appeal to young people who like texting.”
“Voting is a way to make your voice heard, and it’s a very high-stakes election, so we want to make sure people know how to vote and exercise their right to vote,” Estersohn said.