Fastly Powers Digital Experiences for Voter Education During an Unusual Election Year

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fastly, Inc (NYSE: FSLY), provider of an edge cloud platform, is highlighting the work activated on its network to enable and educate voters during an election year beset by a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, and social turmoil. Now more than ever, the internet offers advantages that are amplified amidst the current pandemic to those with access to a residential or mobile connection, including the ability to stay connected with loved ones, engage with the world around us, and continue to work remotely. A long-time provider of mission-critical infrastructure to businesses, nonprofits, and open-source projects, Fastly powers cutting-edge digital experiences for organizations that are advancing the areas of voter literacy and voting rights.

“Our mission is to build a more trustworthy internet. We are proud to partner with organizations that are finding innovative ways to enable and educate voters during a time when they can’t physically gather to educate themselves,” said Joshua Bixby, CEO of Fastly. “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way voters access information about candidates and voting infrastructure. As rallies and town halls move online across the country, voters must rely on digital communication more than ever to stay informed.”

DoSomething.org, a longtime member of Fastly’s Open Source and Nonprofit Program, is a nonprofit focused on activating young people to create social change. One of their key causes this year is registering young people to vote — and teaching them how to inspire others to do the same. In 2018, they registered over 118,000 new young people to vote in the U.S. ahead of the midterm elections. In addition, they activated the new voters to turn out at the polls in higher percentages than the general population: 57% of their 2018 registrations turned out to vote, compared to 39% of registered 18-24 year olds in the general population.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented nonprofits with a unique set of challenges, particularly with restrictions around in-person events. In 2020, DoSomething.org moved their voter registration activities completely online due to the pandemic. Their newly online-only activities are built to create personalized ladders of engagement for young people, to direct relevant actions and habituate civic engagement. With digital innovation at the forefront and a user-first mindset, they are on track to meet their goal of 250,000 young voter registrations by the 2020 election.

“Educating young people on the electoral process — registering to vote, knowing their voting options, and turning out at the polls — is a top priority for us in creating life-long civically-engaged citizens,” said Carrie Bloxson, CMO of DoSomething.org. “Something like knowing when and how to check registration status or finding a polling location for a young person can mean the difference between being able to vote or being turned away at the voting booth. Accessibility to this information, and reliable internet to support that accessibility, is crucial.”

Finally, Fastly is announcing today that all employees around the world will receive their local national election days off. Fastly will also donate $13,000 each to Black Voters Matter Fund & Fair Fight, to aid with their critical missions of promoting fair elections for marginalized groups. “We believe creating change in the broader community starts with making changes in our own home,” said Maurice Wilkins. “Fastly strives to lead by example. We’re making direct donations to organizations, giving our employees the day off, and running an internal awareness campaign to drive Fastlyans to participate in the electoral process.”

To learn more, read Fastly’s latest blog about the company’s initiatives to advance voter enablement. Visit Fastly’s website to learn more about the Open Source and Nonprofit Program, through which they have pledged $50 million to support nonprofits and open source projects.

About Fastly

Fastly helps people stay better connected with the things they love. Fastly’s edge cloud platform enables customers to create great digital experiences quickly, securely, and reliably by processing, serving, and securing our customers’ applications as close to their end-users as possible — at the edge of the internet. Fastly’s platform is designed to take advantage of the modern internet, to be programmable, and to support agile software development with unmatched visibility and minimal latency, empowering developers to innovate with both performance and security. Fastly’s customers include many of the world’s most prominent companies, including Vimeo, Pinterest, The New York Times, and GitHub.

Source: Fastly, Inc