Local Elections in the Social Media Era (Socialization of Local Election Through Social Media for Beginner Voters by Garut Regency Election Commission in 2018 Regional Election)

The low voter turnout in the Regional Elections (Pilkada) in Garut Regency in 2008 and 2013, made the Pilkada take place in two rounds. This happened because of a lack of awareness of voters to vote. This situation was then followed up by the Regional Election Commission (KPUD) of Garut Regency by using social media for socialization, especially for beginner voters among students. In this regard, a study is needed to identify factors that influence KPUD in socializing 2018 regional elections for beginner voters, as well as how the challenges faced in utilizing social media. This study was conducted through qualitative descriptive approach to identify existing challenges and to understand the factors that influence the use of social media by KPUD as methods for socializing the local elections. Data collection techniques were conducted through interviews to seven informants and seven month observations of research. The results revealed that the challenge of using social media in the local elections was the low level of digital literacy of beginner voters and account administrators of KPUD because the content was not managed specifically and routinely. The use of social media on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube contain informative content in the form of socialization activities but has not led to a message of persuasion to novice voters. Keywords: Social Media, Election Socialization, Beginner Voter