Photo courtesy of Ho John Lee on Flickr.
Our Vision
The right to vote is under assault right now in dozens of states across the country, and this urgent threat to democracy is what inspired the WDN Election Integrity Action Circle to re-launch after being dormant for about 3 years.
A recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice estimates that more than 5 million voters will be affected by changes in voting laws – some of which were passed so quickly that no one knows yet what their impact will be on this election cycle.
The goals of the Election Integrity circle are to inform the WDN network about these critical issues, and to strategically fund in areas where we could have impact in helping to ensure that all citizens have a voice in our democracy. We support:
- Voter education
- Federal oversight of voting technology that each state employs for elections
- Poll-worker training
- Making the right to vote fair and equal state-to-state and county-to-county
Our vision is for every voter to vote and for every ballot to be counted as cast!
Our Impact
We are currently raising funds for three potential strategies that will make an impact on the 2012 election cycle.
But the Election Integrity Action Circle has a rich history of impact, including a campaign in October of 2006 combating voter fraud that raised $250,000 in less than a month. Called “Count Hackula,” after the fictional character used in the non-partisan ad campaign, the effort impacted some of the most hotly contested races in the country and was one of the most popular strategies undertaken by WDN.
Our Strategy
We hope to leverage not only the philanthropic resource of WDN members, but their experience, expertise, and relationships as well. We are looking for ways to make a definitive impact in a time-sensitive climate, to help build long-term Election Integrity infrastructure, and to thus strengthen the progressive movement.
