Niantic is attempting to get fans to "Pokémon GO to the polls" by partnering with several nonpartisan organizations in a depressing demonstration of just how little times have changed since 2016. With the 2020 US presidential election on the horizon, numerous parties have been frantically pulling out stops in an attempt to boost voter turnout. Just recently, for instance, it was revealed that Democratic candidate Joe Biden is posting election campaign ads inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The phrase "Pokémon GO to the polls" owes its existence to the 2016 presidential election. The beloved AR phone game was released to the public that year, and it caused a vast social phenomenon that saw players leaving their homes in droves, bonding over the game and making new friends in a beautiful period of happiness and activity vastly removed from the stifling lockdown people are forced to live with these days. In a misguided attempt to connect with young voters over this brief cultural revolution, then-candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that "I don't know who created Pokémon GO, but I want to figure out how to get them to have Pokémon GO to the polls." It was a forced, unfunny joke, and the internet panned her quite mercilessly for it.
Now, inexplicably, Niantic is bringing it back. In a recent Twitter post, the developer confirmed that it does in fact want people to "Pokémon GO to the polls," and that to aid in this endeavor, it is partnering with a trio of nonpartisan groups with the aim of boosting voting numbers in the 2020 presidential election. These groups include Civic Alliance, a coalition of businesses dedicated to increasing voter turnout, Make Time To Vote, which is committed to giving corporate employees more time to fill out and submit their ballots, and Vote Early Day, which seeks to increase awareness of how voters can send their ballots in before election day.
This announcement has already caught flak from fans, many of whom are disappointed that the development team is getting involved in US politics when it's supposed to be marketing a game to a global audience. Still others criticize Niantic for affiliating with nonpartisan organizations. To say that the 2020 election is extremely divisive is to put it as lightly as possible, and there are some fans who think that by not allying with one side or the other, Niantic is being cowardly.
Voting is deeply important this year, arguably more important than it's ever been. Despite the many complaints on Twitter, there isn't really anything wrong with Niantic trying to raise awareness of the country's low voter turnout and do what it can to increase it. Calling back to an awkward, humorless joke from 2016 is probably not the best way to make that change happen, but Niantic shouldn't be faulted for trying. It is absolutely vital that US citizens go to the polls this year. They just shouldn't have to Pokémon GO there.
Source: Niantic/Twitter