'Indigenous DNA': Native voters help turn Arizona blue, led by grassroots workers

Shondiin Silversmith

November 30, 2021 |

AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

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Response Location: United States, Arizona

Indigenous communities across Arizona organized grassroots efforts to register Native voters and increase voter turnout in 2020. Members of indigenous communities were able to move on-the-ground efforts forward in a way that outside organizations could not. While just 6% of the state’s voting population identifies as Native American, President Biden won by just 10,000 votes, making the larger turnout across Native nations more relevant. Efforts involved going door-to-door and setting up information booths in central areas and voters responded to canvassers taking the time to talk with people.

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Armed with pamphlets: the battle to register women voters in Libya

Hendia Alashepy

October 29, 2021 |

The National |

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Response Location: Libya

Libya’s Electoral Outreach Ambassadors program aims to increase women’s trust in the political process and register new voters. The female ambassadors are experienced in civil society participation but are not affiliated with any political or religious group, which is key to building trust given the country’s recent civil war. Ambassadors are trained in many tactics and left to tailor their own strategy so that it is best suited for their own district. Outreach efforts include a combination of house visits, workshops in private and public institutions, and talks with women in public spaces.

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Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don't Know It.

Nicole Lewis Andrew Rodriguez Calderón

June 23, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Nevada

Thirteen states restored the right to vote to millions of formerly incarcerated people in the years leading up to the 2020 elections. An analysis of four of them—Nevada, Kentucky, Iowa, and New Jersey—shows the new rights were rarely exercised, ranging from 4% to 23% of newly eligible voters actually registering. None of the four states required prison, parole, or elections officials to notify eligible voters. Those and other information gaps and barriers teach instructive lessons as the 2022 elections approach.

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For Black Voters Matter, the goal is greater community power

Haleluya Hadero

June 02, 2021 |

Associated Press |

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Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black Voters Matter raises money to support organizations and initiatives that are often too small for institutional funders to notice. The group has given millions to community-based groups in 15 states—mostly in the South—to register voters, canvass neighborhoods with voting-related information, run phone banks, and even rent buses to drive people to the polls. They’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, mostly in small donations from about 90,000 unique donors. The group, who seeks to strengthen organizations for the long run, also funds activities like free grocery distribution for those in need.

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How two Black CEOs got corporate America to pay attention to voting rights

Todd C. Frankel

May 04, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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Response Location: United States, Georgia

A small group of prominent Black business leaders personally urged their corporate peers to oppose the restrictive voting laws being considered in dozens of states. Public statements framing voting rights as a moral, non-partisan issue led to hundreds of corporations - including Microsoft and Target – publicly opposing the bills, with some threatening to withhold investment and campaign donations in states that pass such laws. The Major League Baseball All-Star game was pulled from Georgia. Organizers believe White executives were more likely to listen to Black executives than Black grassroots activists.

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Beyond language: How to enfranchise voters who don't speak English

Emily Previti

March 03, 2021 |

The GroundTruth Project |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Orange County, California

Orange County is a gold standard for supporting voters who aren’t fluent in English. All voting materials come in multiple languages and online databases and voting equipment are compatible with the multilingual system. The county works with community groups and hires native speakers to translate materials for increased accuracy. The county's bilingual workforce has steadily increased, with 30% of election workers now speaking the native language of the voters needing support. Due to the pandemic, language support was provided by video conference, an option that will continue to be available in the future.

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How a legacy of organizing among domestic workers helped turn Georgia blue

Becca Andrews

March 01, 2021 |

Mother Jones |

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Response Location: United States, Georgia

The domestic worker advocacy group, Care in Action, fell short in their goal to elect Stacey Abrams in 2018, which motivated them to mobilize an effective GOTV campaign in 2020. Over 250 of their members canvassed local neighborhoods each day, knocking on over 1 million doors. Overall, the group contacted 5.85 million voters by phone, mail, or in person. The group prioritized making connections with people historically overlooked in the political process and the member organizers make meaningful connections as canvassers because they share similar challenges and concerns as the people whose homes they visit.

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American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old—And Hanging by a Thread

Vann R. Newkirk II

February 11, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mississippi

The federal Voting Rights Act required states to ensure access to the polls for Black voters and created federal enforcement mechanisms. The law worked well in the Jim Crow South, but it wasn't built to deal with racial disenfranchisement more broadly. Congress and the courts have stripped important provisions from the bill over time, like those ensuring enforcement. A 2013 Supreme Court ruling dismissed the need for preemptive measures to protect Black voters, which created an opening for states to pass more restrictive voting laws that have created unfair burdens for Black, Latino, and Indigenous voters.

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A GOP Governor and BLM Activists Agreed on Restoring Voting Rights to Felons. Will It Last?

Kaila Philo

February 04, 2021 |

Politico |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

More than 3,000 Iowans voted in the 2020 presidential election thanks to an executive order signed by the Republican governor after a protest campaign by activists to erase Iowa's permanent ban on voting by people with felony records. But that number was just a fraction of those newly eligible to vote, due to limitations in the order and a lackluster effort to inform the public. Iowa has a disproportionately high number of disenfranchised Black citizens who could be helped by a more permanent constitutional fix. That fix has now been stalled by the choice to act by executive order.

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How grass-roots efforts by Georgia's Latinos helped tip the Senate races

Rachel Hatzipanagos

February 03, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black and Latino organizers with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) knocked on over 300,000 doors in between the general election and Senate runoffs. Canvassing in predominantly Latino neighborhoods, they also reached out to ineligible voters to encourage them to urge their U.S. born family members to vote in their family’s interests. Latino support of Democratic candidates increased in the Senate runoffs adding to narrow Democratic victories. GLAHR also helped elect the first Black sheriff of Gwinnett County, who quickly ended a program that allowed the county jail to collaborate with ICE.

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