Vote.org

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Vote.org, formerly Long Distance Voter, is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is based in the United States. [1] It provides online voter guides for every state, including voter registration forms, absentee ballot applications, and information on deadlines, directions, and ID and residency requirements. [2]

Contents

History

Vote.org was founded by Debra Cleaver in 2008. The organization was named Long Distance Voter at the time, and sought to increase voter turnout by providing greater access to absentee voting information online. [3] [4] The organization was volunteer-run and did not have any full time staff from 2008-2016. Cleaver became the first full-time employee in January 2016.

Long Distance Voter relaunched as Vote.org in April 2016, and was accepted into Y Combinator in June 2016. The mission was updated to reflect a new goal of 100% voter turnout. [4] [5] [6] During the Y Combinator demo day, Cleaver pitched the then-novel use of unsolicited text messages as a way of registering voters. [7] In Fall 2016, Vote.org worked with Hustle to run a nationwide SMS peer-to-peer voter registration program in which they sent millions of text messages to unregistered voters. The program was then expanded to include polling place location information for registered voters. A quantitative evaluation of this program found that these messages increased turnout by 0.2 percentage points. [8] Since then,Vote.org has run many experiments, primarily using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) measuring the effectiveness of voter turnout tactics and messaging. [9]

In March 2018, Vote.org launched ElectionDay.org, a campaign that encouraged CEOs of large companies to voluntarily give their employees time off to vote on Election Day. [10] [11] As of 2020, over 1000 companies had opted to participate, including Twitter, T-Mobile, Lyft, and Adidas. [12] [13] There was an effort to legislate the concept in 2023, when congress introduced HR5322 “Time Off to Vote Act” legislation that would require employers to offer two hours of paid leave for voting in federal elections. [14] [15]

In June 2020, Vote.org, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine filed suit against Maine. The lawsuit alleged that Maine's voting systems were inaccessible and out-of-date, thereby creating barriers to voting. The lawsuit highlighted a lack of voter registration options, a lack of prepaid postage on mail-in ballots, ballot collection hurdles, an Election Day receipt deadline, and rejection of absentee ballots that had technical defects. [16] In September 2020, Superior Court judge William Stokes rejected the lawsuit, citing that the suit took place too close to the actual election and any changes to ballot deadlines would be to the detriment of the state's electoral process and cause disruptions to results. The Alliance of Retired Americans now seek to file an appeal to Maine's Supreme Judicial Court. [17]

In 2020, Vote.org organized food trucks at polling places, and provided free meals to 40,500 voters who were waiting in long lines. [18] Vote.org partnered with tech company Propel, developer of the Fresh EBT app, to register 60,000 low-income participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to register to vote before the 2020 election. [19]  

In 2021, Vote.org advocated for passing the For the People Act, a U.S. bill which expands automatic and same-day voter registration, voter access mail-in and online ballot infrastructure, and new limits on campaign spending. [20] Fair Fight Action, When We All Vote, the Declaration for American Democracy, and Vote.org drafted a letter which was signed by 90 corporations; the letter urged Congress to pass the For the People Act. [21] On March 3, 2021, the United States House of Representatives approved the For the People Act with a 220–210 vote. On June 22, the Senate voted 50–50 to continue debate on the bill, which means the act did not pass. [20] Vote.org also worked with Fair Fight Action and When We All Vote to oppose changes in Georgia's voter ID laws. [21]

Also in 2021, Vote.org partnered with the CW network and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under law to launch the Freedom to Vote nonpartisan initiative, which aimed to increase content promoting voter registration and civic participation on a number of different platforms. [22] This is an expansion of the CW's and Vote.org previous Vote Actually campaign in 2020. [23]

In 2023, the DOJ filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit challenging a Florida voter registration law that mandates people to sign their name with a wet signature, with physical pen and paper. Voting advocacy groups Vote.org, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP filed the lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and other state election officials. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

Taylor Swift posted an Instagram message asking her 272 million followers to register to vote and linking to Vote.org. Vote.org reported more than 35,000 applications submitted on National Voter Registration Day, due in part to Swift’s superstar influence. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]

Concerning the inconsistent and changing rules for the 2024 primary elections, Vote.org attributed the concern that younger voters were more impacted than other demographics as they were newer to the voting process. [35]

Controversies

In the summer of 2019, the organization's board terminated founder and CEO Debra Cleaver, citing "differences in opinion". [36] This resulted in losses in funding, including $4 million of promised funding from Sage Weil. [37] Cleaver was replaced by board member Andrea Hailey. [38]

In October 2019, Vote.org purchased billboards in Mississippi to encourage turnout in an upcoming election. The billboards had the wrong date. [39]

Founder Debra Cleaver filed a lawsuit against Vote.org in August 2022 alleging wrongful termination and a misappropriation of charitable funds. [40] [41]

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References

  1. ↑ "Vote Org | Charity Navigator Profile". www.charitynavigator.org. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  2. ↑ Thorpe, JR (2017-03-07). "Debra Cleaver, Founder Of Vote.org, Is Making Women's History Now". Bustle . Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  3. ↑ "Long Distance Voter Goes the Distance". Teen Vogue . 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  4. 1 2 Vetter, Moira (2016-05-13). "What Can Non-Profit Startup Vote.org Do With Y Combinator Seed Funding In 178 Days?". Forbes.com . Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  5. ↑ "Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout". Y Combinator. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  6. ↑ Fitts, Alexis Sobel (2016-11-06). "This Y Combinator-backed company wants to redesign the voting process for the digital age". Business Insider . Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  7. ↑ Fitts, Alexis Sobel. "This Y Combinator-Backed Company Has a Secret Weapon to Sway Elections". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  8. ↑ "VOTE.org + Hustle: Voter Registration GOTV peer-to-peer texting - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  9. ↑ "Vote.org Research". 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  10. ↑ Steinmetz, Katy (2018-03-12). "Should Employers Give You Election Day Off? These Companies Think So". Time . Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  11. ↑ von Bernuth, Lauren (2018-05-08). "Companies are Signing Up to 'Party Down For Democracy' & Make Election Day a Holiday". Citizen Truth. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  12. ↑ "Electionday.org | Participating Companies". ELECTIONDAY.ORG. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Kate; Maheshwari, Sapna (2020-10-23). "Paid Time Off, Free Fries: How Corporate America Is Getting Out the Vote". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  14. ↑ "H.R.5322 - Time Off to Vote Act". congress.gov. September 1, 2023.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Reps. Cartwright and Williams Reintroduce the Time Off to Vote Act". Congressman Matt Cartwright. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  16. ↑ "Voting by Mail Should be Easy, and This Organization is Suing to Ensure It is". 29 July 2020.
  17. ↑ Caitlin Andrews (2020-09-30). "Maine judge turns back lawsuit seeking major 2020 election changes, but appeal likely". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  18. ↑ "Making it Count • The Nob Hill Gazette". The Nob Hill Gazette. 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  19. ↑ Field, Anne. "How Propel And Vote.org Helped Register 60,000 SNAP Beneficiaries To Vote". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  20. 1 2 "HR1, "For the People Act of 2021"". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  21. 1 2 "Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama urge voters to join the fight to protect access to the ballot". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  22. ↑ Crawford, Lacy Jr. (2021-08-06). "Lawyers' Committee Partners with The CW and Vote.org to Launch New Nonpartisan Initiative to Protect the Freedom to Vote". Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  23. ↑ Tapp, Tom (2020-09-09). "CW Announces New Initiative, CW Vote Actually, To Encourage Viewers To Make Their Voices Heard In 2020". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  24. ↑ "Civil Rights Division | Vote.org v. Byrd | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  25. ↑ "Case 4:23-cv-00111-AW-MAF" (PDF). justice.gov.
  26. ↑ "🚨 New filing in Vote.org v. Byrd". Democracy Docket. 2023-03-16. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  27. ↑ Fineout, Gary; Leonard, Kimberly (2023-07-25). "Florida loses bid to lock DOJ out of voting case". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  28. ↑ "Florida officials hit with federal suit over signature rule for prospective voters". NBC News. 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  29. ↑ Vigdor, Neil (2023-03-16). "Florida Faces Federal Lawsuit Over Signature Rules for New Voters". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  30. ↑ Sullivan, Becky (September 22, 2023). "A Taylor Swift Instagram post helped drive a surge in voter registration". NPR.
  31. ↑ "Taylor Swift told fans to register to vote -- then Vote.org got 35K new voter registrations". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  32. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  33. ↑ Chan, Anna (2023-11-07). "Taylor Swift Reminds Fans to Vote on Election Day: 'It's Time to Use Your Voice'". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  34. ↑ "Traffic surged 1,226% on Vote.org after Taylor Swift urged fans to register to vote". FOX TV Stations. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  35. ↑ "Voting Is Bewildering This Primary Season. That Worries Experts". 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  36. ↑ "Debra Cleaver, Founder Of Vote.org, Is Making Women's History Now". Bustle. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  37. ↑ Schleifer, Theodore (2020-04-28). "One of America's key voting rights groups plunged into chaos when it was needed most". Vox. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  38. ↑ "Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey on the Issues Voters Care Most About This Midterm Election". Glamour. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  39. ↑ "An organization bought billboards to remind voters of Election Day. The signs had the wrong dates". CNN.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  40. ↑ "Vote.org, an Influential Voting Rights Group, Faces a Lawsuit by its Founder". Time.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  41. ↑ Admin (2022-08-22). "Vote.org-Voting Rights Organization, Is Being Sued By Its Founder!". Expert Legal Review. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
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