Los Angeles, California - Snapchat is trying to help younger users who are interested in politics into running races for public office. The app's new feature could help shift the average age of local politicians, so that the people who will experience the consequences of today's decisions can make their voices heard.

Since its launch on October 7, Snapchat's new Run for Office feature has seen interest from more than 24,000 users who want to get involved in running for political office, and more than 46,000 users nominated a friend to run.

The in-app tool was developed with BallotReady, which is a voter education organization.

BallotReady feeds Snapchat info that the app presents to its users, so they can learn who currently holds a specific office, what is required to become a candidate, as well as election dates and what political issues are in the spotlight.

The most interest has come from users in heavily populated states like California and Texas.

The top three issues for those interested in the Run for Office feature are civil rights, education, and the environment.

Users in the US can just search for "Run for Office" in Snapchat to get started and then enter their zip code to see what positions they could run for in their area.

When users decide to run for office, the app gives them the option to get in touch with organizations that recruit candidates. They normally hear back from them within a few days.

Snapchat sees itself as a portal for young users to break into the political scene, and claims that it is in a perfect position to do so, because the app reaches 90% of 18-24 year olds in the country.

The initiative aims to give younger people, even those under the age of 18, a starting place for political involvement.