As the days countdown to Saturday ’ s NSW State Election , politicians are using every way they can to gain votes , and one of these is to advertise on gay hook-up app , Grindr . Labor ’ s Penny Sharpe , who is looking to become a member of the Legislative Assembly , and Sydney state independent MP Alex Greenwich are both using the app in a bid to get as many votes as possible . The two gay politicians are following up on the example set by Greens candidate Sam Hibbins who won a seat in Prahran in November ’ s Victorian state election . Labor ’ s Penny Sharpe ( left ) and Sydney state independent MP Alex Greenwich ( right ) are using the Grindr app to reach out to the electorate . Hibbins was one of Australia ’ s first politicians to use hook-up apps as a method to reach voters successfully . He used the Grindr app to send political messages to members of Melbourne ’ s Prahran electorate , living in the suburbs of Prahran , Windsor , South Yarra and St Kilda East , as the candidate campaigns ahead of the election . The Star Observer reports that Sharpe was using the app on a trial basis for this election . 'It ’ s not a space I play in regularly , ' said Ms Sharpe , who is standing as Labor ’ s candidate in the inner west seat of Newtown . Ms Sharpe and Mr Greenwich both placed ads on Grindr to encourage people to vote for them . 'But I ’ m sure that some of my volunteers have profiles . 'For us , it ’ s a totally new way of talking to people and we know there are lots of people who aren ’ t as engaged . ' Mr Greenwich also said that it was the first time that he had used the app to reach out to the electorate . But if it proved successful he wouldn ’ t rule out using other apps in the future . Ms Sharpe ’ s ads were paid for out of her campaign funds while Mr Greenwich ’ s is courtesy of campaign group Out For . Grindr is a smartphone app to facilitate casual sex for gay men . However , it was Mr Hibbins who was the original trailblazer . ‘ This election we 're using Grindr to reach voters in Prahran , ' Mr Hibbins wrote on his Facebook page before the Victorian state election last November . 'We 'll be using it to promote events , our support for equality and broader policies . ' Mr Hibbins believed that although he was the first to use the strategy in Australia , the idea would take off as a popular campaign approach . Sam Hibbins used Grindr to send targeted messages to the homosexual community in his electorate in Prahan ahead of last November 's state election in Victoria . Dutch and Irish politicians were the first to use Grindr to connect with voters . Dutch politician Jan-Bert Vroege used the app to campaign in March last year . He did not use pop up messages like Mr Hibbins however , rather transforming his own pre-existing Grindr account , changing his profile description to : ‘ let ’ s have a date on March 19 ’ to promote a political event about gay issues . Last May , Irish politician Phil Prendergast used Grindr as part of her European Parliament re-election campaign but lost the seat . Dutch and Irish politicians were the first to use Grindr to connect with voters .
Penny Sharpe and GreenwichAlex Greenwich sent messages on the app to voters . Labor 's Sharpe is using the app on a trial basis for this election . Mr Alex Greenwich hopes the app can help reach out to the electorate . Greens candidate Sam Hibbins successfully used the app in this way . Mr Hibbins won a seat in Prahran in November ’ s Victorian state election . Grindr is a smartphone app to facilitate casual sex for gay men .