The Pokémon Go craze sweeping the nation has had its fair share of consequences — some humorous, and others downright sinister. It has only been a week since the game’s release, and players have reported injuries, armed robberies, and the mysterious discovery of a dead body.
Now, a political group is using it to trick young people into voting.
The popular mobile game uses the phone’s GPS to lure people to different real locations to “catch” virtual Pokémon characters. NextGen Climate, a climate change advocacy group, is using the feature to lure people to its events in Iowa this week.
The Des Moines Register pointed out that the game primarily appeals to people in their teens and 20s — which happens to be the exact demographic NextGen is targeting in their voter registration campaign.
“We have been putting forth an aggressive strategy to engage young voters where they are, and Pokémon Go seems to be where a lot of folks are right now,” NextGen Iowa state director Zack Davis said. “We’re excited to adapt and make this another tactic we’re using to engage young voters.”
A NextGen spokeswoman said they would be dropping particularly “rare” Pokémon characters at specific locations in four different cities in Iowa this Friday. When the young people gather to catch the Pokémon, a member of the NextGen team will be there to pitch them on the importance of supporting “clean energy leaders,” and register them to vote.
NextGen is active in Iowa and other key swing states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, Illinois, and Colorado.
The group, along with super PAC NextGen Climate Action, are led by billionaire liberal environmental activist Tom Steyer, who has pledged to spend $25 million on youth voter turnout in 2016.
