As the polls are starting to open up for November midterm elections, it seems that everyone is coming together to encourage their fellow citizens to vote. Social media users are sharing links that connect their friends and followers with voting registration, information about the candidates running in their area, and capitalizing on why their vote matters. With that being said, celebrities have not shied away from implementing their political beliefs into their influential voice.

On October 7, just a month before the midterm elections, pop singer Taylor Swift shared her first political post on Instagram, and it sparked interest from her followers. Under a simple polaroid photo of herself, she expressed her personal thoughts and explanations regarding the upcoming political event. Swift, who is registered to vote in her hometown of Tennessee, thoroughly explained to her followers who she was voting for and why. She also expanded on who she was not voting for and why this candidate will not win Swift’s vote.

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Senate in Tennessee, represents the Republican Party. Swift states that Blackburn’s voting record in Congress “appalls and terrifies” her. According to Swift’s post, Blackburn goes against equal pay for women, does not believe in equal rights for LGBTQ citizens (i.e. occupational rights, marriage rights), and does not support the protection of sexual assault victims. “These are NOT my Tennessee values,” Swift wrote. She then moved on to explain suitable candidates according to her beliefs. These candidates, who represent the Democratic Party, are Phil Bredesen running for Senate and Jim Cooper running for House of Representatives. Both Bredesen and Cooper stand for values that align with Swift’s political beliefs.

As media naturally analyzes each of Swift’s words and actions, those who read her post had strong opinions. Swift, however, turned her comments off after sharing the post. Shutting down the opportunity for fans to give feedback is a bold move to make, however, the comment section tends to be a toxic zone for people of influence since the forum is known for growing very aggressive. University junior, Lisa Moran, said, “Swift probably wanted to express her own opinions without reading anyone else arguments, and that is why she turned off her comments,” said Moran. “When feedbacks get vicious, this is a healthy action to take.”

Celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, and Millie Bobby Brown have taken the same action in disabling the Instagram public comments option due to the surplus of hate-comments on their profiles. Whether celebrities share a glamorous selfie or a heartfelt post, if the comments are disabled, there was motivation behind them being turned off.

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Something I wish I knew about when I was 18 and voting for the first time: ✨EARLY VOTING✨. It makes it so quick and easy to go and cast your vote before November 6. Early voting starts TODAY in Tennessee and goes to Nov 1 🇺🇸 You can check out your state’s early voting dates at the link in my bio

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 17, 2018 at 6:02am PDT

University junior, Veronica Cabrera, said, “It seems like millions of young people read Taylor Swift’s post and felt encouraged to go vote during midterm elections.” Taylor Swift worded her post in a professional and fair manner while simultaneously addressing the problematic qualities she views with Marsha Blackburn’s policies. She highlighted why she sees Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper as suitable candidates in hopes to inspire young people to vote for who they see as a proper representative for this country.

In the final part of Swift’s post, she encouraged young people to go out and make their votes count while also including registration deadlines for the state of Tennessee. It is clear to see that Taylor Swift deeply cares for her country and the rights of her fellow citizens. University junior, Julia Slattery, said, “It is positive for celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, to express their political beliefs, as long as their beliefs are backed up by informed opinions.” After reading this post, young people of America seem to be more motivated to be heard and exercise their right to cast their vote during the upcoming midterm elections, taking place on Tuesday November 6.

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A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 19, 2018 at 9:45am PDT

Following this profound young voter motivation, on October 19, Taylor Swift furthered her encouragement for her fans to vote. She shared a post on her Instagram story that stated, “If you just voted, take a pic and tag me with #justvoted. It may end up on my story.” Less than an hour after the story was posted, she began sharing screenshots of fans who voted. Some of these individuals were first-time voters and voters in the state of Tennessee. These posts from young and new voters alone was confirmation that Swift’s first political post was taken into action by the readers as it challenged her fans, friends, and fellow citizens to go to the polls.