Getting involved has never been easier:
5 Ways to Register Online to Vote!
20+ Ways to Volunteer!
25+ Ways to Show Your Support!
“These organizations have ideas to help you find your voice. Join the many others who prize the right to vote and believe it is the birthright of every citizen.”
Kavitha George, Feb. 20, 2019
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fights civil rights injustices on a number of fronts, and one of those is voter suppression. You can also sign their petition to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which restores protections to the Voting Rights Act stripped by a 2013 Supreme Court Decision. Additionally, you can donate to ACLU chapters in states that feel voter suppression the most — here’s a comprehensive list.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJC) works to knock down language barriers for voters across the country. They provide a voter hotline with assistance in nine Asian languages, as well as election resources for people to check their voter registration, understand their ballot, and know their voting rights ahead of time. Get involved by applying for an internship or donating at their website.
The Brennan Center is a leader in civil rights research and litigation. Its work to protect the integrity of voting rights and elections is thorough and its website an excellent way to educate yourself on voter suppression efforts and how to combat them. To stay informed, sign up for its monthly newsletter and consider a donation.
Common Cause works to make the process of voting more democratic from all angles — they’re fighting to expand voting rights, eliminate gerrymandering, and are even pushing for popular vote presidential elections (see you later, Electoral College!). You can of course donate, but their team has also put together a bunch of ways to help you take action yourself. Use their step-by-step guide to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, volunteer at a Common Cause state office, phonebank or textbank, organize your community — whatever you want to do to help, they’ve got you covered.
Election Protection is a great resource for everything you and your Twitter followers might need to know about voting. That includes polling locations and absentee ballot information, as well as a hotline to report anything that goes awry on voting day. You can call (866) OUR-VOTE if you think someone is illegally being denied their vote, if your polling machine breaks, if there aren’t enough ballots, etc.
If you are a legal professional, you can also sign up to volunteer with Election Protection in their on-the-ground efforts to protect voting rights. If you’re not a legal professional, don’t worry! You can sign up to volunteer as a poll monitor on Election Day.
Fairfight.com promotes fair elections around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
Fair Fight Action was founded to organize collective efforts to expose, mitigate, and reverse voter suppression. We engage in voter mobilization and education activities and advocate for progressive issues. http://fairfight.com/
Global Citizen is a social action platform for a global generation that aims to solve the world’s biggest challenges. On our platform, you can learn about issues, take action on what matters most, and join a community committed to social change. Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/media/everyvote/
Donate to or contact your local League of Women Voters (LWV) chapter to see how you can help. LWV volunteers go out ahead of elections to register new voters (hint: all those folks turning 18 in the next two years!) — you can sign up for email and text alerts at the LWV website to learn how to organize in your community.
Let America Vote is an organization former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander started last year to protect voting rights across the country. There are a number of action items Let America Vote will get you started with, from hosting a “Voting Rights House Party” to providing housing for volunteers, to door-knocking for 2020 candidates that are likewise fighting voter suppression. https://letamericavote.org/action/
Founded in 2017, March On mobilizes the masses to build political power. We support and provide resources for hundreds of local affiliates and organizers nationwide, and partner with other progressive organizations on joint initiatives that work to shift the balance of power toward progressive, people-centered ideas.
Over multiple state and federal election cycles, March On has harnessed the national groundswell of grassroots energy and helped organizers channel that energy into sustainable change. Our initiatives increase civic engagement and amplify the voices of the marginalized to advance justice, fairness and equity.
Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting efforts, at home and abroad, to undermine our right to free, fair, and fully informed self-government. Together, armed with our Constitution and the rule of law, we can renew our democracy and protect it from those who would do it harm.
Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building the political power of young people. For 30 years, Rock the Vote has revolutionized the way we use pop culture, music, art, and technology to engage young people in politics and build our collective power. https://www.rockthevote.org
Spread the Vote is an organization dedicated to helping people get IDs ahead of Election Day. IDs are necessary to participate in lots of areas of society, such as getting employment, opening a bank account, or finding housing. Additionally, voter ID laws in particular disproportionately affect communities of color, the elderly, and new voters. Spread the Vote helps people to navigate their state’s ID laws and assists with everything from application fees to driving you to the DMV to get your ID. You can join a local chapter (or start one!), and donate at their website.
On the relation of diversity in nature to human diversity:
“We as humans will always be fallible. That’s always my opener. And with that in mind, looking at the history of just our country, it’s so easy to see the amazing things we’ve accomplished. And it’s also so easy to see the mistakes that we’ve made.
And so that’s my hope – to open our minds to that fallibility that then allows us to own those behaviors and say, “OK, so we did this poorly. We did this bad. How can we do it better?”
“Because we’ll never be done evolving our civilization. Our beautiful American experiment that ostensibly on paper is designed to make an equal amount of happiness and justice for every citizen has a long way to go.
So in order to achieve that, which I think is absolutely what our goal should be, we have to keep our eyes and ears and hearts open to that diversity of nature.’
– Nick Offerman
On civic values
“Democracy is never a thing done”.
– Archibald Macleash
“. . . prioritize public-spiritedness, tolerance, open-mindedness, and active engagement in public affairs”.
– Frances Fukuyama