Guest blog by Tanya Tassi, Policy Manager for CenterLink. Tanya first got involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy at the Wisconsin AIDS Resource Center at the age of 17 where she eventually became an HIV test counselor. She continued her work with the LGBTQ+ community; first at Nashville AIDS Project, then at her local PFLAG chapter, and read more
Since the birth of this country, voting has been a key feature of a representational democracy meant to give the citizenry access to the inner-workings of the government. And while the right to vote was included in America’s foundational document – the United States Constitution ratified in 1789 – exactly WHO could vote was not read more
Megan Murray Cusick is the Assistant Director for State Advocacy at American Library Association, working in partnership with ALA’s state chapters and affiliates to speak with a unified voice about the transformative power of our nation’s nearly 120,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries. Prior to joining American Library Association, Megan was a high school read more
Voter registration doesn’t stop due to the pandemic, but it does change. And with so much of our lives going digital during this time, online tools are some of the best options to ensure the communities we serve are #VoteReady. To help, we held virtual resource fair with presentations from Vote411, BallotReady, Rock the Vote, Democracy read more
Missed our virtual civic tech tools fair featuring presentations from Vote411, BallotReady, Rock the Vote, Democracy Works, Register2Vote, Vote.org, and State Voices? We had a BIG turnout and lots of questions but not nearly enough time to answer them all. So here are some answers to the most often asked questions that just didn’t make read more
We’re not the first ones to say it, but we are at a pivotal point in our country’s history and it’s democracy. The last several months we have seen the country change drastically in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, altering the very fabric of our daily lives as a record number of people lost their read more
Guest blog by Brandon Graham, Senior Manager, Advocate Engagement for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He collaborates with the Alliance’s state and local leaders to engage grassroots mental health advocates, including shepherding NAMI’s get-out-the-vote efforts (Vote4MentalHealth). Prior to joining NAMI, Brandon worked on various political campaigns and as a U.S. Senate staffer. He read more
Our Statement on the George Floyd Protests Like many Americans, we have been rocked by the brutal death of George Floyd, yet encouraged by the protestors’ struggle for justice and real change, a struggle seen in communities across the nation. Times like these call on all of us to ask hard questions – and to read more
Thanks for joining our May 22 webinar “Voter Registration in the Age of COVID.” Special thanks to Lauren Kunis from National Voter Registration Day, Jennifer Lumpkin of Cleveland VOTES, Amara Reese-Hansell from Forward Montana Foundation and Caroline Mak from Nonprofit VOTE for sharing their knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the read more
Start Your Summer Voter Engagement Work Summer is the perfect time to start planning how you will engage potential voters in the 2020 Elections taking place on November 3rd. As states begin to reopen and people become more mobile, we nonprofits can help make sure our communities have the information they need to cast their read more
How I Learned the Power of the Asian American Vote For me, the last two months have been Zoom meetings by day, Netflix by night. Painfully relatable was Taylor Tomlinson’s “Quarter-Life Crisis” as the days blur together. There was also something else I found relatable: The “Patriot Act” episode called “Don’t Ignore the Asian American read more
Voter Registration and COVID-19 FAQ Missed our live webinar about the impact of COVID-19 on voter registration and what can be done to remedy it? Our wonderful speakers — Lauren Kunis from National Voter Registration Day, Jennifer Lumpkin of Cleveland VOTES, Amara Reese-Hansell from Forward Montana Foundation and Caroline Mak from Nonprofit VOTE — were read more
Thanks for joining our April 23 webinar “COVID-19 & Expanding Mail-In Ballots in November” Special thanks to Amber McReynolds from the Vote at Home Institute, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Ben Hovland from the Elections Assistance Commission for sharing their knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit read more
Guest blog by Danny Navarro, Advocacy Manager for Feeding America. He has over eight years of experience working in civic engagement organizations and political organizations across the country, notably in Florida and in Washington D.C. He currently lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Laurie Ochoa, and they are looking forward to moving into their read more
We recently hosted a record-breaking webinar (1000 RSVPs!) about expanding mail-in voting policies in the age of COVID-19 featuring Amber McReynolds from Vote at Home Institute, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Ben Hovland from the Election Assistance Commission. Simply put, we didn’t have enough time to answer all your questions during the live read more
It’s been one month since a national emergency was declared in response to the spread of COVID-19. This has brought huge changes to the daily lives of most Americans as events were cancelled, schools and businesses closed, and we were asked to stay home to save lives. The nonprofit sector has had to adapt quickly read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
Thanks to all who could join our March 31 webinar “Voting Rights and Support for People with Felony Convictions” Special thanks to Jon Sherman, Senior Counsel at Fair Elections Center and Samuel Gross from Revive My Vote for sharing their knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. read more
Thanks to all who could join our March 12 webinar “Nonprofits Count 2020: Messaging Campaigns” Special thanks to Jeri Green from National Urban League and Adan Chavez from NALEO Educational Fund for sharing their knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: NALEO’s new Digital Toolkit: read more
Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Partners, These are challenging times. Like you, we are taking the CDC’s warnings about COVID-19 seriously – holding meetings virtually, working remotely, and more. It is our sincere hope that these social distancing interventions will save lives. Protecting our communities is paramount. We are also looking closely at how COVID-19 impacts read more
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve had the honor to present to national partners hosting conferences in DC to lobby on issues important to them. After presenting to Feeding America, sitting on a panel for YMCA, and speaking with folks from the American Alliance of Museums, I’ve learned one important thing: Nonprofits are ready for read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our February 25 webinar “What is Ranked Choice Voting?” Special thanks to Drew Penrose from Fair Vote for sharing his knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. NEXT WEBINAR: What: “Voting Rights and Support for People with Felony Convictions”When: March 31 2pmETWho: Jon read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
Whether it’s a big presidential election year or a so-called “off year” election, voter registration is always the first step in making sure citizens can make their voice heard at the ballot box. As simple as that fact is, there is always room for misinformation, myths and outright lies that keep untold numbers of citizens read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our January 30 webinar “Census 2020: Nonprofits CAN Shape the Future.” Special thanks to Victoria Leonhardt from Grow and Lead for sharing her knowledge and expertise.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: Sample 2020 Census Questionnaire Video on Census read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
In last week’s British (UK) election, Boris Johnson and his allies lost the popular vote by over 1.7 million votes, but won a majority of seats in the Parliament ensuring Johnson will remain Prime Minister. While his Conservative Party and pro-Brexit parties won only 47% of the vote, they gained 57% of the seats, fueling read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our November 21 webinar “Planning Ahead for 2020 Elections and Census.” Special thanks to Bessie Chan-Smitham from Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Louisa Hackett from Community Votes who shared their knowledge.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Any questions please contact Education Director, Caitlin Donnelly at caitlin@nonprofitvote.org
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our August 29 webinar “Running Voter Registration Drive at Your Nonprofit.” Special thanks to Dr. Mittie Davie Jones from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs who shared her knowledge on running effective voter registration drives.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. RSVP for read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our August 14 webinar “Effectively Engaging Candidates.” Special thanks to Ronnie Pawelko Elections Counsel for Alliance for Justice who shared her knowledge on the best ways to engage with candidates.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Additional resources: Candidate Engagement Toolkit RSVP for our September read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our July 31 webinar “Staying Nonpartisan: Rules for 501(c)(3) Organizations.” Special thanks to David Levitt of Adler & Colvin for walking us through the Do’s and Don’ts of nonprofit voter engagement activity.WEBINAR MATERIALS:Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Additional resources: Checklist of permissible election activities What read more
Challenging At-Large Voting in Lowell, Massachusetts: Resources & Fact Sheets On May 17th, Asian-American and Latino voters in Lowell, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the city for its use of At-Large Voting to elect its City Council and School Committee. The complaint filed in Federal District court said the at-large system, where all nine city read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our June 19 webinar “Engaging New Voters: Planning and Best Practices.” Special thanks to Victor Leandry, Executive Director of El Centro of El Centro de Servicios Sociales, Inc.; Rachel Contos, Community Liason at the Alliance to End Homlessness; and Caroline Mak, Research Coordinator at Nonprofit VOTE. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our May 21 webinar “Better Voter Engagement Strategies for People with Disabilities.” Special thanks to Michelle Bishop, Disability Advocacy Specialist for Voting Rights at National Disability Rights Network and Molly Broadway from Disability Rights Texas. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Additional resources: Download read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
This blog post was written by Sarah Blahovec, Disability Vote Organizer at National Council on Independent Living. The disability community is one of the largest groups of voters in the United States. In 2016, 16 million people with disabilities participated in the election. However, voter turnout of people with disabilities is still below the rest of read more
Millions of eligible voters across the nation are unable to participate in our elections because of a problem with their voter registration or a missed deadline. The numbers change depending on the election cycle and other factors, but however you do the math, it’s clear that millions of our citizens are prevented from voting due read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our April 18 webinar “Supporting Voters in States with Voter ID Laws.” Special thanks to David Griggs, Executive Director of Vote Riders; Arekia Bennett, Executive Director at Mississippi Votes; and Don Waisanen, Associate Professor at CUNY. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
This post was written in collaboration with the staff at Spread the Vote. Simply put, a voter ID law is any regulation requiring that a voter furnish proof of identity in order to cast a ballot in an election. As of 2016, over 30 states have voter ID laws in place. On the surface, these read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our April 2 webinar “America Goes to the Polls.” Special thanks to Michael McDonald, Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Florida; Amber McReynolds, Executive Director at Vote at Home; and Caroline Mak, Research Coordinator at Nonprofit VOTE. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the read more
Last month, Nonprofit VOTE and the U.S. Elections Project released America Goes to the Polls, our report that looks at all 50 states turnout in 2018 and the policies that impacted it. In 2018, we saw history being made as voters across the country turned out in numbers not seen in a midterm election in read more
This Women’s History Month blog post was written by Natalie Cone, Manager of State Advocacy and Civic Engagement at the YWCA. The organizing efforts of women in civic engagement have shaped and strengthened our democracy. From the suffragettes who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment almost 100 years ago to Fannie Lou Hamer and read more
Nonprofit VOTE and Independent Sector are partnering to bring you a new blog series, Mission Possible. This series will explore the different ways a variety of nonprofits are embedding voter engagement into their work. We believe that even limited voter engagement can help you enhance your mission and drive positive change for your communities and read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our March 14th webinar “Ballot Measure Advocacy for Nonprofits.” Special thanks to Kellie Dupree from BISC (Ballot Initiative Strategy Center) and John Brautigam from Democracy Maine for sharing their data and insights. This year is already off to a good start and we’ve got LOTS more planned for this year! Read about our plans here. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our February 21 webinar “Planning Your Census 2020 Work.” Special thanks to Anita Banerji from ForeFront and Beth Huang from Massachusetts Voter Table for sharing their data and insights. This year is already off to a good start and we’ve got LOTS more planned for this year! Read about our plans here. WEBINAR MATERIALS: Please feel free to download read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our February 14 webinar “Fundraising for Your Census 2020 Work.” Special thanks to Debbie McKeon from Council of Michigan Foundations and Jay Young from Common Cause for sharing their data and insights. This year is already off to a good start and we’ve got LOTS more planned for read more
The year is 2020. Across the country snow is melting, spring is just around the corner, and letters from the US Census Bureau are inside every mailbox. These letters will ask each household to record basic demographic data about themselves on an online portal. Many families will follow the link and complete the questionnaire with ease and read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our January 31 webinar “Running for Office — A Primer for Nonprofit Leadership.” Special thanks to Christina Sanders from Vote Run Lead and Derek Marshall at Nation Builder for sharing their data and insights. This was our first webinar of 2019 and we’ve got LOTS more planned for this read more
Nonprofit VOTE has had the pleasure of working with several organizations doing voter engagement work. One of those organizations is the National Urban League, who also served as a premier partner for National Voter Registration Day. The NUL is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of read more
Encouraging people to vote is one of the most direct ways nonprofits can promote and protect democracy, but running for office is probably the boldest. As leaders and staff of charitable organizations, we often think of ourselves as people who serve the community in a less visible capacity – fundraising for programs that serve our read more
Ending the Cutoff to Register to Vote in all 50 states While 19 states already have Election Day or same day Registration, where every voter can register or update their registration on Election Day or during early voting, 31 other states still cut off voter registration up to a month before the election. That could read more
First-Timers Succeed Even When They Fall Short Voter engagement work isn’t easy. From asking strangers if they are registered to vote, to organizing your first voter registration drive, there are lots of things that make this work confusing and challenging. Luckily, many of us also know that it gets better and more fun every time read more
What compels someone to vote for a specific candidate? Why do they vote for some measures but against others? Ask any professional pollster and they’ll tell you that even when all the demographic data lines up, there are still ghosts in the machine — blind turns they can’t see coming. But there is one question read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our November 20 webinar “Understanding Who Turned Out to Vote in 2018.” Special thanks to Michael McDonald from the US Elections Project, Abby Kiesa from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and to Eric Salcedo and Christine Chen of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) for read more
Who says there can be too much of a good thing? In 2019, Nonprofit VOTE is bringing you more webinars than ever before! Long time favorites, such as Planning Ahead, Staying Nonpartisan, and Working with Candidates, will be offered alongside new topics, like supporting voters in voter ID states, getting your issues on the ballot, and fundraising read more
UPDATED 11/9/18 – As of 9 am Friday, the US Elections Project shows 2018 turnout at 48.5%, just shy of the 48.7% midterm turnout in 1966. If the final count exceeds the 1966 record, we would need to go back to 1914, over 100 years ago, to find a higher midterm turnout. The year was 1966. The read more
By large margins voters said “YES” to sweeping reforms in how we register and vote. Amidst high youth voter turnout, ballot measures rode a wave of support to change how we do redistricting, register voters, pay for campaigns, re-engage ex-offenders, cast and count votes. Independent Redistricting Commissions Americans voted overwhelmingly to take away the power read more
Cold weather makes you sick. You only use 10% of your brain. Ex-felons can’t vote. We’ve heard these all our lives and while none of them are actually true, only one of them is hurting our democracy. “When you run into people with past convictions many of them believe that they cannot vote. That’s not read more
Did you miss our October 11 Webinar, “Nonprofits Get Out the Vote: Strategies and Messaging” with Nonprofit Vote’s Partner Engagement Coordinator Lamont Harrell and Ohio Votes Coordinator Maria Bruno! Check out our recap to see how your nonprofit can help get out the vote! Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch read more
Did you miss our September 20 Webinar, “Nonprofits Count: Preparing for Census 2020?” We’ve got a recap with Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant on all things census, Sheilah P. Clay of Neighborhood Service Organization, and Stephania Ramirez of California Community Foundation! Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our August 9 webinar “Ballot Measure Advocacy for Nonprofits.” Special thanks to Kellie Dupree from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Shannon Schell of Protecting Arizona’s Families Coalition. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a few read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our July 19th webinar “Interacting with Candidates: 5 Approaches for your Nonprofit” Special thanks to MassVote‘s Cheryl Clyburn Crawford for lending us her expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Quick Links: Here are the additional resources we mentioned during the read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our July 11th webinar “Philanthropy’s Role in Democracy.” Special thanks to Nonprofit VOTE’s Brian Miller, Kansas Health Foundation’s Elina Alterman, and The Fund For New Jersey’s Kiki Jamieson for lending us their expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: read more
The following is an excerpt from “The Myths, The Facts, The Future: Everything You Need to Know About Ranked Choice Voting” written by George Pillsbury as it appears on The Independent Voter Network (IVN.US). Partisan gerrymandering. Money in politics. The Electoral College. Undue restrictions on who votes and how we vote. Every contentious election issue discussed read more
In the coming months, Nonprofit VOTE will be building out our Nonprofits Count resource library to help nonprofits engage in and support a fair and accurate Census in 2020. Nonprofits, as we did in 2010, can help ensure the communities we serve are counted. Before we get to the counting part though, there are some read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our June 7th webinar “Countdown to National Voter Registration Day!” Special thanks to MOVE San Antonio’s Alyssa Pope and Disability Rights New York’s Yasmine Kamel for lending us their expertise on how best to host awesome National Voter Registration Day events. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our May 17th webinar “Reaching Young Voters” Special thanks to Inspire U.S.’s Hannah Mixdorf, LeadMN’s Cecilia Damian, and HeadCount’s Andy Bernstein for lending us their expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a few of read more
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE VOTER ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS. Click here to learn more and to download the foundation toolkits. Foundations and nonprofits are well positioned to increase voter and civic participation within the communities they serve. They’re trusted messengers, deeply rooted in local communities and invested for the long read more
Thanks to all who were able to attend our March 29th webinar “Engaging New Voters: How Nonprofits Can Close the Voter Participation Gap.” Special thanks to CRC America’s Emily Shamsid-Deen and Nonprofit VOTE’s Brian Miller for lending us their expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a read more
Webinar Roundup: Engaging New Voters–How Nonprofits Can Close the Voter Participation Gap Thanks to all who were able to attend our March 29th webinar “Engaging New Voters–How Nonprofits Can Close the Voter Participation Gap.” Special thanks to Emily Shamsid-Deen and Brian Miller for lending us their expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, read more
Since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February, teenagers from around the country have not only organized a large demonstration in Washington, D.C (in addition to nearly 800 more cities). and inspired a nationwide walkout on March 14, they have ignited an interest in getting young people registered to vote. However, registering people under read more
Webinar Rundown: Being Nonpartisan 2018 Voter Engagement Dos and Don’ts for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our March 8 webinar “Being Nonpartisan: 2018 Voter Engagement Dos and Don’ts for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits” Special thanks to David Levitt for lending us his expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, read more
No matter which candidates walk away with the most votes in the 2018 Texas primaries, there has been one clear winner from the beginning — the voters. Even before Tuesday’s ballots are counted, Texan voters took advantage of their rights and cast early votes in record numbers. According to Texas Secretary of State office, early read more
Webinar Rundown: Plan Ahead 2018 Part 2 Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our February 22nd webinar “Plan Ahead 2018 Part 2” Special thanks to Cheryl Ellis for lending us her expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a few read more
Webinar Rundown: Plan Ahead 2018 Part 1 Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our February 8th webinar “Plan Ahead 2018 Part 1” Special thanks to Cheryl Ellis for lending us her expertise. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a few read more
Webinar Rundown: The Problem of Low Voter Turnout in Local Elections, 2017 Thank you to everyone who attended our November 14th webinar on “The Problem of Low Voter Turnout in Local Elections.” We would like to offer special thanks to Phil Kiesling for sharing his expertise with us. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the read more
Fair Voting Methods for Multi-Seat Elections: Limited Voting, Cumulative Voting, proportional Ranked Choice Voting Limited Voting, Cumulative Voting, and the proportional form of Ranked Choice Voting are the three main voting methods used as a “fair vote” alternative to the winner-take-all, plurality voting method used in At-Large elections. These include city councils, school committees, county read more
Webinar Rundown: AAPI Vote 2017 Thank you to everyone who attended our October 19th webinar on “The Asian American and Pacific Islander Vote.” We would like to offer special thanks to Karthick Ramakrishnan for sharing his expertise with us. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here read more
Webinar Rundown: Working with Candidates 2017 Thank you to everyone who attended our October 12th webinar on “Working with Candidates.” We would like to offer special thanks to Cheryl Clyburn Crawford for sharing her expertise with us. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, or watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s YouTube channel. Quick Links: Here are a read more
Due to the unique evolution of democracy in the United States, elections are still largely administered by the states. While the rules vary, most states require you to register to vote prior to casting a ballot on Election Day, in some cases as much as 30 days in advance. So when do you need to read more
The Bias of At-Large Elections: How it Works “The Oldest Trick in the Book” If you want to rig a local election, there’s an easier way than stuffing a ballot box, gerrymandering a district, or amassing a campaign war chest to scare off challengers. Have your city or county adopt winner-take-all “At-Large” voting, where, instead read more
Two Examples of the Bias of At-Large Voting: From Non-election Settings The examples show how the use of standard plurality At-Large voting method allows one voting block to determine not just their fair share but all the choices. Under plurality at-large voting rules, voters may cast as many votes as there are choices. They may read more
Nonprofit VOTE 6/20/2017 Webinar Resources: On June 20, 2017, Nonprofit VOTE held a webinar, “Running for Office: Pipelining Nonprofit Leaders“. We would like to offer special thanks to German Cash of New American Leaders Project and Shannon Garrett of SMG Strategies for making the time to share their expertise with all of us. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download the webinar PowerPoint and audio file, read more
Webinar Rundown: Being Nonpartisan 2017 Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our webinar last week “Being Nonpartisan.” We would like to offer special thanks to David Levitt of Adler & Colvin for making the time to share his legal expertise with all of us. Webinar Materials: Please feel free to download read more
Political Competition Hits Historic Low: Part Three The Electoral College (This three part series focuses on four foundational election practices that limit political competition and voter choice – methods not meant to be permanent and adopted in the 18th century when democracy was new, populations small, and few candidates or parties or people eligible to read more
Webinar Rundown: Register Your Constituents to Vote Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our webinar last week “Register Your Constituents to Vote in 2017.” We would like to offer special thanks to Cheryl Ellis of Democracy North Carolina and Emily Shamsid-Deen of Community Resource Center in Denver Colorado for lending us read more
Political Competition Hits Historic Low: Part Two Money and Politics (This three part series focuses on four foundational election practices that limit political competition and voter choice – methods not meant to be permanent and adopted in the 18th century when democracy was new, populations small, and candidates, parties and people eligible to vote few. read more
Voter File 101: The Benefits of Using the Voter File in Civic Engagement and Advocacy Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our April 18th webinar “Voter File 101: The Benefits of Using the Voter File in Civic Engagement and Advocacy.” We would also like to thank George Christie and Chris read more
Political Competition Hits Historic Low: Part One The Anti-Competitive Impact of Winner-Take-All Voting and Partisan Redistricting Democracy cannot be just defined by the right to vote. Voters must also be offered meaningful choices between candidates and a genuine degree of electoral competition. Outside of a few battleground states, competition was hard to find in 2016. read more
One Reason People Don’t Vote: They’re Not Contacted Did you know that in 2016, four in ten of the nation’s 231 million eligible voters didn’t vote. One reason is that, in spite of the election’s pervasive exposure in the media, the majority of eligible voters were never personally contacted about voting by a candidate or campaign. read more
Thank you to everyone who attended our most recent webinar, America Goes to the Polls 2016. A special thanks to our presenters, Dr. Michael McDonald, Dorian McCaal, and our own Brian Miller for sharing their time and expertise. Here’s the contact information for each presenter: Dr. Michael P. McDonald Associate Professor, Department of Political Science read more
Nonpartisan Redistricting: Citizen Commissions Drawing Districts While 2016 was momentous, the 2020 election is arguably a bigger political event. The presidential contest coincides with the election of state legislators who control the next round of redistricting – drawing new lines for their state’s Congressional seat and their own seats for the decade to come. While read more
The Electoral College: A Compromise Never Meant to Last For the fifth time the Electoral College, the constitutional compromise principally forged to get slaveholder states to sign the constitution, elected the candidate with fewer actual votes than the popular vote winner. Again questions are being raised about why the framers came up with scheme. Is read more
A big thank you to everyone who attended last week’s webinar “Plan Ahead 2017 Part 2: Nonpartisan Voter Engagement Tactics for Nonprofits.” We appreciate your excellent questions and comments. If you were unable to attend the webinar you can watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s Youtube channel now; download the PowerPoint presentation; or download the audio MP3. The two new read more
Our first webinar of 2017, “Plan Ahead 2017: Creating a Voter Engagement Plan and Timeline for Your Nonprofit,” is now in the books. If you were unable to attend the webinar you can watch the webinar on Nonprofit VOTE’s Youtube channel now; download the PowerPoint presentation; or download the audio MP3. The two new resources mentioned during the webinar are also read more
Our November webinar, one week after the election, focused changes in the composition of the electorate, voter turnout and election and voting trends. Thanks again to the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities for their generous support of the webinar. Support like theirs helps keep our webinars FREE and accessible for all! To learn more, click here. If you read more
BOURBON STEAK at Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC is getting into the election spirit and doing its own polling, the good old-fashioned way—all with the added benefit of supporting Nonprofit VOTE. Now through Election Day, guests who order one of the four specialty Presidential Cocktails concocted by head bartender Torrence Swain will be given a vintage style ballot read more
