AOC Will Livestream On Twitch And Play “Among Us” To Encourage Voting
The congresswoman’s offer led to plenty of interested responses from popular gamers, Internet stars and fellow politicians.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) put out a call on Twitter for users to play a popular video game with her to promote voting in the current 2020 election.
“Anyone want to play Among Us with me on Twitch to get out the vote? (I’ve never played but it looks like a lot of fun),” AOC tweeted on Monday.
Released in 2018, “Among Us” picked up in popularity this year with the help of YouTube stars, TikTok influencers and Twitch streamers. The multiplayer game allows between four and ten players to participate in a game where each is assigned a role. “Crewmates” try to complete a set amount of tasks while trying not to get killed by “imposters.”
More recently, progressive organizations and activists have been using the game to encourage people to vote. “Virtual organizing is really popping off right now. Among Us is a great place to talk about really anything you want to get out there,” gun violence activist Cameron Kasky told The New York Times. “You’ve got people’s eyes and attention and the game is not too complicated where it’d be distracting to talk about voting. It leaves the viewers visually engaged while you talk about whatever you want.”
Popular gamers and other Internet stars enthusiastically expressed interest in AOC’s offer. Even fellow congresswoman and Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) expressed interest in playing.
AOC replied to a few interested streamers and said she would get the necessary streaming equipment to play. She later tweeted that she had set up a verified account on the popular streaming platform Twitch and that she would hopefully go live Tuesday night.
According to Democratic strategist and data analyst Tom Bonier, some 2 million Americans under the age of 30 have already voted in the 2020 election. The U.S. Elections Project says at least 34 million Americans total have already voted. Getting more young voters to the polls is a key priority for Democrats, as a majority of Americans under 35 tend to support Biden-Harris and their policies.
This isn’t the first time AOC has used popular gaming platforms to engage with voters. Earlier this year, she used the popular Nintendo Switch game “Animal Crossing” to virtually visit and interact with some of her Twitter followers.