Twitter’s Election Labels return to help you make sense of 2020 elections

With 2020 around the corner, it’s about that time to actually start paying attention to who’s running for what. That’s why Twitter is bringing back its Elections Labels feature, which provides you with information on political candidates.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because the social media platform first introduced the feature last year during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Starting on Thursday, Twitter will now start verifying candidates for U.S. Senate, House, and governor races.

On each candidate’s Twitter profile, you’ll see a small ballot box icon, the office they’re running for, as well as their state and district number. The label will also appear under the politician’s handle whenever they tweet or retweet from their accounts. 

And, to help combat confusion elsewhere on the internet, the information is still visible even when tweets are embedded within articles on other sites.

So, when will we start seeing Election Labels on our timeline? Just in time for the 2020 U.S. elections, once candidates have qualified for the general election ballot. But since caucus and election dates vary by state, the labels will roll out over time. 

To tackle such a task, Twitter has enlisted the help of Ballotpedia — a non-profit, civil organization whose goal is “to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government.” The organization will help Twitter identify candidates’ accounts once they qualify for the general election ballot. 

With the first set of primaries and caucuses happening on March 3, you’ll likely see Election Labels appear on your timeline very soon. 

So, rather than scrolling through your timeline for random memes and funny tweets, you’ll also be able to use it for educational purposes. Like, you know, staying informed on something as important as the future of our country.