Organization’s Objective
American democracy is challenged by large gaps in who votes and who does not. These gaps are not random - they correlate directly with income, education and ethnicity. These participation gaps impact the composition of legislatures, the conduct of government and the course of public policy.
Closing these gaps is twofold. More Engagement: It will take a broad and sustained effort in every election. It will involve many more people and organizations than in the past to reach America’s new and underrepresented voters. More Voting Rights: It will also mean confronting critical issues of voting rights and election reform. Every year millions of Americans lose their right to vote due to outmoded, sub-standard and discriminatory voting practices that vary in 50 states and 3,000 counties.
We've learned from research:
1.The most effective way to engage new voters is through personal contact and social networks. Yet millions of non-voters and new voters are not now reached by traditional campaign methods alone. New ways to contact and involve voters are needed.
2. Millions don’t vote due to lack of basic knowledge of the voting process. Not enough is done to help new voters address basic barriers of knowledge, access, language or experience through direct personal voter education.
3. Millions more can’t vote due to problematic election laws and practices. We could do far more to engage local election boards and Secretaries of State broad enough to win the bigger election reforms needed to make elections open and fair.
4.One of the institutions in which Americans place their highest trust is the nonprofit sector. Yet this expansive sector of human service agencies, nonprofits and civic groups has been largely untapped for their voter participation potential. They have shied away from elections for lack of knowledge on the many ways they can legally participate and how best to incorporate voter participation into their busy slate of service and constituent demands.
