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You can now donate to 2016 candidates directly through Twitter

Democracy in 140 characters or fewer.

 

Patrick Howell O'Neill

Tech

Posted on Sep 15, 2015   Updated on May 27, 2021, 11:45 pm CDT

You can now donate directly to politicians in a simple tweet thanks to a new partnership between Twitter and Square.

The process requires candidates to sign up for a Square Cash account and then tweet out requests for donations complete with an automated contribute button.

“When people have conversations about politics, they have them on Twitter,” Jenna Golden, head of Twitter’s Political Advertising Sales wrote on Tuesday. “It’s what voters learn and share in these conversations that routinely motivates political action. That’s why we’re making it easier for Twitter users to actively support candidates and causes.”

For donors, the process is supposed to be even more simple: When you see a candidate tweet out a “$Cashtag,” just click the contribute button. You’ll need to add your debit card info and fill out the info required from the Federal Election Commission.

The contribution tool is brand new, and so it has yet to be picked up by any of the 2016 campaigns so far.

Illustration by Max Fleishman 

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*First Published: Sep 15, 2015, 9:47 am CDT