Selena Gomez admitted this weekend during her Voting Power Hour appearance that this is her first time voting in a U.S. election because in the past, she felt like her vote
didn't matter. (Gomez lives in California, a solidly blue state.)
Sam, a 20-year-old super texter in Michigan, asked Gomez about her first voting experience. She responded candidly, "Honestly, I’m not ashamed to say this but I kind of—this was my first time. And I’m going to say that because I never felt—and this is so true—and I’m now like admitting it to people, like my vote counts. Like, every little thing counts so I just think some people get in their head, like, oh well, what does it matter? And then once I really, really started going in and diving in to this, it’s been all I can focus on." You can watch her respond to the question at the 48:00 minute mark:
Gomez has been a vocal advocate for voter registration and education in this election, serving as a co-chair for Michelle Obama's When We All Vote initiative. She also narrated an episode of Netflix's Whose Vote Counts Explained series, which explores voter suppression, the influence of money in elections, and how to fix the electoral system so everyone's vote counts equally:
Gomez hasn’t officially endorsed any candidate in the 2020 election, but during an Instagram Live with Timothée Chalamet yesterday, the two made it clear they aren’t rooting for Donald Trump's reelection:
“I really hope this guy loses.” We do too ?? pic.twitter.com/yujx4fdgZb
— Selena Gomez HQ (@SelenaHQ2) October 24, 2020
Gomez added, during the Power Hour, that her activism goes beyond social media: She'll also ask if people are registered on the set of her projects.
"I had a few music videos I had to do [this year], and it was hysterical because I would walk in, and everyone—I’m like the nicest person so it’s fine—but like I literally, man, I said, I looked at everyone and said, 'Is everyone registered to vote?' And like they all paused, giving me like a [look]," Gomez furrowed her brow to try to demonstrate, "that kind of face and I’m just, 'Have you?' [They're] like, 'y-yeah.' And I’m like, 'Thank you, you can continue with the shoot.'"
Gomez shared her first voting selfie on her Instagram on Friday. "Just finished filling out my ballot!" she wrote.
For more information on how to vote, check out ELLE's voting information hub here. Early voting has begun now in many states, and Election Day is next Tuesday, November 3.