National Voter Registration Day

  This is What’s Trending Today. Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day in the United States. And two related hashtags were popular on Twitter. The social networking service publicized #iRegistered. The service did something special for users who noted U.S. voter registration and used #iRegistered. Twitter included an Uncle Sam-like hat emoji with the user’s tweet. The hashtag #NationalVoterRegistrationDay was also trending. The U.S. elections are on November 8. The leading candidates for president are businessman Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. American voters will also elect a new U.S. Congress and local government representatives. In some areas, voters can express support or dislike for gun control, marijuana use, taxes or other issues. Voting is not a legal requirement for U.S. citizens. But those who want to vote must register before the elections. In many states, the last day to register is between October 10 and 20.  A website called NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org says six million Americans were unable to vote eight years ago because they missed the registration deadline. Some famous people have made videos urging Americans to register, regardless of which candidate they support. Singer Katy Perry made a funny video telling people they could vote while wearing any kind of clothing they wanted, as long as they register in time. The video showed people voting while wearing the same clothes they wore to bed the night before.  Former U.S. President Bill Clinton also appealed to Americans to register for the elections. He wrote: “Your vote counts, but only if you register!” Another Twitter user told people that their voter registration for this year’s elections will still be good in the future. He called it a “pro tip.”  One Facebook user’s video tied to the registration campaign was popular on social media. He said he mailed his registration form right after seeing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in their first debate Monday night. Even the crew of the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” made a video dealing with voter registration. Actor Harvey Fierstein and singer Cyndi Lauper said all Americans need to register. The video is called “Every Voter Say Yeah!”   And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Do you have to register for elections where you live? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   _______________________________________________________________   Words in This Story tip – n. a piece of advice or useful information hashtag – n. a word of term that starts with the sign # and that briefly states what the message is about emoji – n. an image thought to represent something trending – n. moving in an upward direction deadline - n. a time limit regardless – adv. without being stopped by difficulty or trouble tip – n. suggestion

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