Oregon election mascot Blobby makes social media debut

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – What’s yellow, round and cute all over? Oregon’s new election mascot, of course!

Voters, meet Blobby – the social media influencer leading the state’s Voting in Oregon Feels Good campaign. The cartoon blob debuted on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, the accounts will “use humor and meme content to reach a broader audience with our office’s accurate election information” in an effort to increase voter participation.

The team will also use the accounts to share PSAs that they hope will “pre-bunk” false election information. The videos are animated and channel the same informative messaging of Smokey the Bear, which former Secretary Shemia Fagan said was an influence at the start of the campaign in October 2022.

“Research shows that once a person forms a belief about elections it’s very hard to change their mind,” Fagan said when the campaign was first announced. “When Oregonians know all the steps elections workers take to protect the integrity of our elections, it completely undercuts the conspiracy theories from proponents of the Big Lie.”

To view the campaign’s previous PSAs, visit the office’s YouTube channel.

KOIN 6 News will continue to, uh, follow Blobby.