John, imagine you just turned 18 and are excited to cast your first vote this fall. You turned in your voter registration before the deadline, researched the candidates on your ballot, and are ready to do your civic duty.
But then, when you get to your polling center, your name isn’t on the registration list – or worse, some partisan poll watcher tries to intimidate you and stop you from casting your vote.
You’re still figuring out how everything works, and now you’re worried about being falsely accused of fraud — even though you’ve done everything right. You wonder if voting is always like this — and even consider walking away.
But then, you remember the helpful face you saw coming in: a trained nonpartisan Election Protection volunteer, stationed outside the polls to make sure every eligible voter knows their rights.
They listen as you explain what’s going on, get in touch with our national pro-voter advocates, and assist you as you successfully cast your ballot. Thanks to that volunteer — and despite the obstacles you faced — you proudly start a lifelong habit of voting, fulfilling the promise of our democracy!
John, this is no hypothetical. Each year, our nonpartisan volunteers help thousands of voters in this exact situation — making the difference between a first-time voter who is welcomed into our democracy, and one who is intimidated into giving up their rights.
We field thousands of these volunteers — the largest operation of its kind in the country — designed to protect and defend the rights of at-risk voters in states like Georgia, Texas, and Florida. Backed by specific state-by-state training and our legal experts, we are making a real difference as voters face unprecedented threats this year.
For example, with extremists threatening to camp out at the polls and challenge voters that don’t fit their stereotypes, we’re training our volunteers on how to de-escalate these situations and ensure voters feel protected and safe.
And, with false allegations of election misconduct spreading online, we’ve also trained social media volunteers on how to identify and expose misinformation on sites like Facebook and Twitter — so it can be debunked with evidence and removed.
Spurred on by the threats to our democracy, we’ve already seen thousands of Common Cause members like you step up to volunteer helping voters.
John, this is unprecedented for a midterms election, but it also challenges us to build our training and support operation bigger than ever. Each state has different election rules and different challenges commonly faced by voters, which means dozens of training programs.
Our field team only needs $50 to train and support a volunteer through early voting and Election Day. That’s only $50 to station a trusted voice in their own community to potentially help hundreds of voters over the course of the election.
John, we’ve shown you the challenges faced by new voters, who are key to keeping our democracy healthy. Will you support a volunteer today so when that voter casts their ballot, they can count on a friendly face and pro-voter resources at the polls? >>
John, I can remember being a first-time voter myself, and how exciting it was to cast my first ballot.
Let’s do our part to ensure that voters today have that same experience, protecting it from suppression and intimidation across the country.
Thanks for all that you do,
The team at Common Cause
