Verizon Media launches election 2020 slate and voter registration initiatives

NEW YORK -- SEPTEMBER 22 -- Verizon Media today announced a slate of new products, editorial series, immersive content, virtual experiences and voter registration initiatives giving users and voters unparalleled access to trusted information leading into the 2020 Election.

Together, Verizon Media brands including HuffPost, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and more will offer best-in-class reporting, diverse perspectives into campaign issues, interviews with candidates, and practical information to its audience of nearly 900 million users. The brands will also launch new initiatives that provide audiences with detailed instructions on voter registration, as well as help them make informed decisions ahead of this year’s historic election.

“As we near one of the most pivotal elections in our nation’s history, Verizon Media is committed to providing our audience with trusted content that keeps them informed on the issues that matter,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media. “We’re dedicated to offering consumers a comprehensive experience and 360 approach to the issues, as well as the platforms, resources and tools they need to feel empowered when they cast their vote on Election Day.”

The new initiatives include a Yahoo Election Hub - a centralized one-stop platform featuring reporting from across the trusted news sources that also includes polling data and a section on battleground states, fact checked content, register to vote module and aggregated coverage from major news sources like New York Times, USA Today, AP, Fox, Bloomberg and more. Yahoo Sports will launch “Voting Playbook,” an interactive map of the U.S. featuring athlete-hosted instructional videos on the complete voting process in each state including Breanna Stewart, Calais Campbell, Ali Krieger, David Price, Cris Carter, Adrian Peterson, Shawn Johnson, Gerald McCoy, and more. Yahoo Mail will also launch a new “Today” tab in the app that will bring overall news, content and election coverage from the Yahoo ecosystem to Yahoo Mail users, the first integration of its kind.

The full slate includes:

Yahoo Election Hub:

• The new Yahoo Election Hub features reporting from its trusted news sources including Yahoo News, HuffPost, Yahoo Finance and TechCrunch. The hub allows users to track major events and stream live events, clarify candidate stances on issues ranging from health care to voting rights, gauge public opinion through polling data, and wade through the voting process for their hometown. The Yahoo Election Hub also includes a fact Check content section, Register to Vote module and a how to vote checklist to help people get through the confusing process of voting during a pandemic, and a calendar module giving readers the ability to figure out when live events take place. The Hub is also a one-stop shop for aggregated coverage from major news sources like New York Times, USA Today, AP, Fox, Bloomberg and more.

Immersive Content:

• This year, Verizon Media will debut a number of immersive experiences to users giving them cutting edge, mobile-first experiences to help inform their vote. The XR content will include cutouts of the candidates, 3D models of lecterns, 3D models of the electoral map, and visualizing a mail-in ballot by itself and data-visualized as a stack of the millions of ballots that need to be counted for this election to go smoothly. Verizon Media will also roll out “I Registered” and 50 "I voted" AR stickers customized for each state for election day.

Election Specials:

• Leading up to the election, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and HuffPost will work in collaboration to produce four hour-long specials focused on issues that matter most to voters. Each special will focus on a unique topic including voting, the debates and Covid, the economy, and social justice. The specials will air across the Verizon Media ecosystem and feature commentary from reporters and editors across each of the brands.

Yahoo Sports:

• Yahoo Sports will launch Voting Playbook presented by Yahoo Sports, a voter registration initiative using famous athletes, including Breanna Stewart, Calais Campbell, Ali Krieger, David Price, Cris Carter, Adrian Peterson, Shawn Johnson, Gerald McCoy, Bill Self, Jrue Holiday, Jared Allen and more, as voter ambassadors for each state. This interactive map of the U.S. features athlete-hosted instructional videos on the complete voting process in each state, taking viewers through the entire process from first-time registration, checking one’s registration status, voting in-person or absentee, and tracking one’s ballot after voting. Users can hover over any state, then click to reveal each video. The video modal also contains links to each state’s voter information hubpage, links to search accessible voting in your state, as well as links to search how to volunteer at the polls in your state.

Yahoo News:

• Yahoo News will expand its popular “The 360” series giving readers multiple perspectives on the top issues important to voters. Additionally, Yahoo News will launch a new explainer series, diving deep on important topics, making it easier to understand the news. The team will also continue to release timely polling information in partnership with YouGov on a wide range of subjects ranging from Trump vs. Biden (national and battleground states), Trump’s approval ratings (all issues, coronavirus, economy, direction of country and foreign policy), Key Senate Races, House Democrat vs. Republican polls, and more.

HuffPost:

• HuffPost launched an Election Hub that gives detailed information on polling data, election events, houses a daily newsletter with 2020 updates, as well as general election news. HuffPost will also provide results for races that we know are of interest to readers, at all levels. Additionally, the team will utilize their strong team of enterprise policy reporters to look at what the results mean for the lives of individual people far outside of Washington.

Yahoo Finance:

• Yahoo Finance will publish walkup stories and video analysis focused on the candidates’ economic policies and will feature round-the-clock coverage of the tick by tick in the financial markets on Election Day. Furthermore, Yahoo Finance will give users livestream Bell-To-Bell coverage with reporters and guests covering the economic issues of the day.

Yahoo Mail:

• Yahoo Mail will launch a new “Today” tab that will bring overall news, content and election coverage from the Yahoo ecosystem to Yahoo Mail users, the first integration of its kind.

Voter Registration Initiatives:

• On National Voter Registration Day on September 22nd, and leading up to the election, Verizon Media will continue its efforts to offer its users the ability to register to vote. Last year, Verizon Media partnered with TurboVote to create Yahoo- and HuffPost-branded Voter Registration portals that helps every eligible voter participate in all of their elections and also helps users navigate the absentee ballot request process. Since launch, close to 20,000 Verizon Media users signed up with TurboVote to receive information materials needed to register to vote and be engaged for their upcoming local and national elections. Verizon Media will continue to use the power of its ecosystem to drive additional voter registration this year.

Election Day:

On Election Day Verizon Media will leverage its diverse content, products and partnerships to engage users throughout the day via live results, live stream coverage of key events, commentary by leading editors and reporters, as well as a live blog and alerts and notifications. Verizon Media will also leverage partner content in order to provide a 360 degree view of the events of the day. Additionally, Verizon announced 4 hours paid time off for its U.S. based workforce on Election Day, to ensure employees are able to participate in the democratic process.