Clinton and Trump’s campaign teams have been using Pokémon Go to try to catch voters

POKEMON GO HAS made its way onto the US presidential campaign trail, with the staff of both major candidates appealing to users of the smartphone game to catch voters.

The campaigns have referenced the game, with Clinton holding an event at a Pokémon gym in Ohio.

The viral game uses smartphone satellite location, graphics and camera capabilities to overlay cartoon monsters on real-world settings, challenging players to capture and train the creatures for battles.

Pokémon Blue

In a campaign address last week, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton talked about her hope to channel the app to lure voters.

I don’t know who created Pokemon Go, but I’ve tried to figure out how we get them to have Pokemon Go to the polls.

Clinton’s staff have since been cruising the streets looking for Pokémon Go players, hoping to divert their attention for the few minutes to register them to vote.

At a recent event in Ohio, the Democratic campaign encouraged players to come to its “lure module”, a feature that brings more Pokemon to a given location, to “get free Pokémon” and “learn more about Sec Hillary Clinton!”

“These two Pokémon traders just registered to vote!” tweeted Joe Makielski, an organiser for the Colorado Democratic Party, along with a photo of two young men.

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Pokémon Red

Clinton’s Republican rival Donald Trump is also trying to take advantage of the game’s popularity, with the campaign recently posting a parody video on Facebook called Crooked Hillary No, showing the Democratic candidate getting caught with a Pokéball and her stats showing up, including “next evolution – inmate”.

© – AFP, 2016

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