Vote in 2016’s first global US presidential caucus on Facebook

From the streets of Boston to the sidewalks of Buenos Aires and Berlin, people are talking about the US election and how it could affect their lives. What if they could all speak their mind in one place? From now until the election, they can.

The UnConvention World Vote on Facebook is a global caucus for US president, open to the 1.7 billion people with Facebook accounts. Each person can “vote” once for a candidate and explain his or her reasons.

“It’s similar to the US primary caucuses, where anyone who shows up can express their views,” says Michael Skoler, PRI’s vice president for interactive media. “Caucus results aren’t scientific and don’t determine an election, but they show what people are thinking.”

The UnConvention World Vote is being run by PRI, in collaboration with 92Y and Mic, to bring voices from the US and the world into one conversation, as the US campaign draws to a close.

The voting engine was built by Telescope, the company behind online votes that allows people to weigh in on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, NBA all-star picks and other contests. The World Vote is open to every Facebook user, unlike a regular poll that is based on a small, carefully-selected sample of people.

PRI and its collaborators will share maps and graphics of the results broken out by age, gender and country (as well as US state) on social media using the hashtag #WorldVote. The straw poll allows people to select reasons for their vote and add their own text or video explanations, which may be featured in news stories.

The World Vote is part of The UnConvention — coverage, conversations, quizzes, polls and events by PRI, Mic and 92Y highlighting the voices and issues of Millennials in the 2016 election. UnConvention coverage is guided by a private Facebook group of 400 millennials from around the world.