“Nonprofit and nonpartisan does not mean nonparticipant.”
Lauren Kunis, CEO and Executive Director of VoteRiders, says she repeats that line so often she jokes she needs it on a bumper sticker. But for an organization working at the intersection of voter ID laws and civic participation, the phrase also reflects a larger reality: nonprofits are often the most trusted guides voters have.
That trust matters more than ever. Today, 38 states have voter ID laws on the books, and VoteRiders’ research found that 34.5 million voting-eligible Americans lack a current, updated photo ID. But over the years, the organization has learned that the barrier is not only the laws themselves, but also the confusion that follows.
“We’ve learned that the barriers voters face aren’t just about direct disenfranchisement—confusion itself is a powerful suppressor.”
Founded in 2012, VoteRiders works to give voters clear, reliable, state-specific information about what ID they need in order to successfully cast a ballot with confidence. That includes free voter ID assistance, multilingual resources, updated voter ID information cards, and direct support navigating complicated state requirements. VoteRiders’ work became even more important following the rapid expansion of voter ID laws that occurred in the wake of the Shelby County v. Holder decision. Following the 2020 election, a second unprecedented wave of new and stricter voter ID laws swept the country and continues to do so today.
VoteRiders’ strategy owes its success in no small part to prioritizing accessibility. The organization focuses on plain language and collaborating with trusted local service providers and community organizations, whether that’s a food bank, shelter, or community resource fair. In order to make offering free ID Help as easy as possible for its partners, VoteRiders equips nonprofits with ready-to-use materials in English and Spanish they can fold into the services and support they already provide.
VoteRiders also sees its partnerships as critical in a moment when voter engagement itself is increasingly treated as partisan. Their approach stays rooted in equitable access and participation, focusing on helping eligible voters of all stripes successfully navigate whatever ID requirements exist in their state.
That perspective shapes how they think about civic engagement more broadly. Voting is one step, but it opens the door to deeper participation in community life. And nonprofits are often the people voters trust first when they need help navigating systems that feel confusing or inaccessible.
For organizations hesitant to get involved, VoteRiders’ message is straightforward: civic engagement already overlaps with the work many nonprofits are doing every day. The challenge is often less about building something entirely new and more about recognizing the opportunities already in front of them. There’s no need to already be an expert in civic engagement. Training, resources, and added capacity from groups like VoteRiders and Nonprofit VOTE support organizations taking whatever steps they can to incorporate civic support into the ways they already serve their communities.
At a moment when confusion alone keeps many eligible voters from participating, organizations rooted in community trust present a much-needed antidote to the churn of transactional partisan politics. “We’re not showing up every four years,” says Kunis. “We’re in it for the long haul, and so are our partners.”
