Vote.org
Vote.org, formerly Long Distance Voter, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in January 2008 in the United States by a group of professional investigators and voter advocates that initially sought to provide greater access to absentee voting information online.[1][2] Long Distance Voter was volunteer-led, but Vote.org employs full time staff. Vote.org provides online voter guides for every state, which include voter registration forms, and absentee ballot applications, as well as information on deadlines, directions, and ID and residency requirements.[3]
In 2008 the volunteers assisted in registering 20,000 voters and helped 130,000 registered voters obtain absentee ballots. Long Distance Voter has partnerships with voter advocacy groups Rock the Vote and CountMore.[citation needed]
Long Distance Voter relaunched in April 2016 as Vote.org with funding from Y Combinator.[4][2][5][6]
In March 2018, Vote.org started a campaign to have companies allow their employees time off on Election Day 2018 in order to vote.[4][7]
During the summer of 2019, founder Debra Cleaver was fired by the board and replaced by Andrea Hailey, a board member who had helped force her out. To date, the only public explanation for Cleaver’s firing has been that there were “differences in opinion.” Cleaver has stated that the Vote.org board retaliated against her after opposing a $40,000 severance payment to a former employee, a move which she claimed violated the law.[8]
Since that time, Vote.org has experienced diminished fundraising and a loss of partnerships, as many high-profile donors and organizations have joined with Cleaver’s new organization, VoteAmerica. Donor commitments up to $4 million were withdrawn upon Cleaver’s termination, and scuttled partnerships include ViacomCBS, the Voter Participation Center, and the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. In response, Vote.org has secured new partnerships with the NAACP Youth and College Division and the Transformative Justice Coalition.[9]
References
- ^ "Long Distance Voter Goes the Distance". Teen Vogue. 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ a b Vetter, Moira (2016-05-13). "What Can Non-Profit Startup Vote.org Do With Y Combinator Seed Funding In 178 Days?". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ Thorpe, JR (2017-03-07). "Debra Cleaver, Founder Of Vote.org, Is Making Women's History Now". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ a b Steinmetz, Katy (2018-03-12). "Should Employers Give You Election Day Off? These Companies Think So". Time. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout". Y Combinator. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ Fitts, Alexis Sobel (2016-11-06). "This Y Combinator-backed company wants to redesign the voting process for the digital age". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ von Bernuth, Lauren (2018-05-08). "Companies are Signing Up to 'Party Down For Democracy' & Make Election Day a Holiday". Citizen Truth. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ Schleifer, Theodore (2020-04-28). "How one of America's most important voting rights groups plunged into chaos just before it was needed most". Vox Media. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ Schleifer, Theodore (2020-04-28). "How one of America's most important voting rights groups plunged into chaos just before it was needed most". Vox Media. Retrieved 2020-05-29.