I live in New York State. It is a safe blue state. I have to travel out of state to work to elect Democrats who are the gate keepers against the MAGA fascists taking over Congress and Governors’ offices. There are people of my generation who are not in a position to make such trips. Thus, I was very pleased to discover three organizations who are doing very good work in the current election cycle. These groups, I can support from afar. The three are VoteRiders.com, the Movement Voter Project and Seed the Vote.
There shouldn’t even have to be an organization like VoteRiders.com. Going to their mission URL, we learn that their only reason for existence is that the right to vote is under assault from State Legislatures and “concerned citizen” groups who attempt to intimidate people by challenging their right to vote. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “Since the beginning of 2021, 18 states have passed 34 restrictive voting laws, …”. The center describes such laws as restrictive if it creates a situation where “it would make it harder for eligible Americans to register, stay on the rolls, and/or vote as compared to existing state law.”
[The quote is from the Brennan Center’s website: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2022]
VoteRiders has collected voting requirements legislation from all fifty states and provides clear detailed information for current or potential voters explaining exactly what they need to do in order to navigate these increasingly restrictive laws. They start by dividing the country into three categories. First are those states that require strict voter ID with a government issued photograph. Then there are those states which accept many different types of ID. Finally, there are those that don’t require any ID. VoteRiders shows the different states on an easy-to-read national map, color coordinated by the types of ID required.
Here is some information directly from VoteRiders:
For their mission statement see
https://www.voteriders.org/mission/
And here is further information:
They offer digital resources, state-specific voter ID Information cards, ID trainings, a social media toolkit, and free help to voters to get the ID they need to cast a ballot. Voters can call or text our Helpline (844-338-8743) at any point for assistance in English or Spanish on voter ID questions, and to start the process to get free help from VoteRiders to obtain acceptable ID.
One final point: This organization is strictly non-partisan. Its goal is to make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to. From my perspective, that is great even though most of the voter suppression effort is aimed at reducing the turnout from groups who lean Democratic. I think even Republicans should be encouraged to register and vote. Some might even see the light and reject MAGA fascism.
Once individuals are registered, of course, the next step is to encourage them to actually get out and vote. The Movement Voter Project engages with local grassroots groups who specifically target young people and others who are under-represented among voters. According to their mission statement the MVP “works to strengthen progressive power at all levels of government by helping donors – big and small – support the best and most promising local community-based organizations in key states, with a focus on youth and communities of color.”
“We support hundreds of incredible organizations that both turn out unlikely voters and organize communities to grow their power and crate transformation, from policy to the streets.”
They argue that this local focus is not only effective in terms of its results but also COST EFFECTIVE in terms of the “bang for the buck” in terms of voter turnout.
I can do no better than to directly quote from their website:
“There are thousands of grassroots organizations working to build a true democracy and move the U.S. forward on issues of economic fairness, racial justice, immigrant rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, access to healthcare and environmental sustainability. But not nearly enough direct funding or individual donations go to these groups. In the meantime, billions of dollars are spent each election cycle on TV ads and consultants. We are working to change that!”
(As an aside from me, I have always been skeptical of the value of inundating TV stations with ads. After a while, they end up just being background noise --- rarely do they have the impact worth the expenditure. But the highly paid consultants act like the carpenter who has only a hammer --- to that carpenter, everything looks like a nail! That’s why I was attracted to the Movement Voter Project.)
“At MVP, we believe in organizing and organizers. We know that the way to win is by working at the intersections of social movements, grassroots communities, and elections to ensure that we both win big and build long-term progressive power. Our job is to empower donors to embrace the impacts of their resources beyond elections. We connect donors to the most effective grassroots voter organizations in the country that mobilize their communities in critical states and build organizing power that lasts beyond the election cycle. Move resources to directly impacted communities. We recommend groups that work in communities representing the true diversity of the American people: in communities of color: among working class, rural, low-income, LGBTQ, elderly and young/new voters and voters with disabilities, among students, renters, veterans, new Americans, those for whom English is a second language or isn’t spoken at all, and others who may have additional barriers or need additional support to have their voices heard in the civic process. Create new opportunities to fund the impossible and possible. We see exciting, new, under-the-radar projects and get them on the map. We also work with movements, organizers and leaders nationally and locally to develop electoral interventions in ways that work for them.” [See https://movement.vote/about for this quote and more.]
The third group I have recently learned about is something that an older person with less ability to travel and organize --- someone like me --- is very much looking for. Seed the vote has a program where volunteers who cannot travel to battleground states provide logistical and financial support for people who can go. Volunteers like me can sit at home and help folks who can travel to battleground states by arranging their transportation to a designated city, connecting them with local organizations and even assisting them with hotels and local transportation while they are canvassing. This help is both with logistical decisions and in providing direct financial support for those travelling volunteers.
In 2020, this worked. Seed the Vote arranged for people who could not travel to battleground states to provide logistical support for people who could. They specifically targeted four states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Florida. They also recruited more than 9000 volunteers to work within those four states. Their success was most apparent in the
January, 2021 Senate runoffs. There is no question that Seed the Vote provided crucial support.
Because of their success in 2020 and January 2021, they decided to continue the same kind of work this year. (They say they are in for the long haul -- through the 2028 election cycle.) To Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania they have added Nevada, Wisconsin and North Carolina. In addition to in person canvassing, they organize phone banking.
[More general information about Seed the Vote.]
I have to admit, I thought the Republicans were going to take Congress by storm bringing our country closer to fascism. Then along came the abortion decision and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I got a bit more optimistic. The vigorous activity of these three organizations (and there are others) are giving me hope that the expected “red wave” of Republican victories can be blunted. I sure hope so because I believe the future of our country is at stake.
Michael Meeropol is professor emeritus of Economics at Western New England University. He is the author with Howard and Paul Sherman of the recently published second edition of Principles of Macroeconomics: Activist vs. Austerity Policies
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