Our campaign, Democracy Done Right is all about creating a voting system that reflects who we are as voters. With young people being the largest, and most diverse voting bloc in our nation’s history, we deserve a democracy that is accessible and reflects all of the progress we’ve made.
Youth organizers in the Alliance Network have been doing this work for years and have paved the way for historic and innovative reforms that allow their communities to cast their ballot in ways that work for them.
Democracy Wins Across the Network
The Alliance Network is leading the nation with automatic voter registration laws
In 2009, Oregon Bus Project began a campaign to automatically register voters at state agencies like the DMV. In 2015, now known as Next Up, they won–sparking a series of automatic voter registration reforms all across the country.
Protecting polling places on college campuses and engaging students to register to vote
As the right to vote has come under attack in the country, Forward Montana, MOVE Texas, Next Up, Engage Miami, and New Era Colorado have successfully preserved on-campus access to the ballot.
Engage Miami fought for and won early voting sites at Miami college campuses for the 2018 Midterm Elections. The Washington Bus and New Era Colorado were able to get ballot drop-off boxes on campuses across their respective states. And MOVE Texas won polling locations on Texas college campuses contributing to a dramatic increase in student voter turnout.
Alliance Network orgs have also been engaging students through our Campus Takeover program around the Civic Holidays. Through Campus Takeover, the network has been able to host fun and innovative events and programs to get out the vote on college campuses. By centering our efforts on campuses, we are able to help students realize their identities as voters, remove common barriers from civic engagement, and create a culture of voting and non-partisan civic engagement on campuses that students are likely to carry with them long after they graduate.
Expanding voting access
To ensure young people have access to engage in our democracy from a young age, New Era Colorado worked to pass a law 17-year-olds who turn 18 by the general election are able to vote in their primaries. In 2021 Forward Montana Foundation sued their state over House Bill 506, a bill that would restrict access to the ballot for voters who turn 18 in the month before Election Day, and won! In August, 2022 a judge declared the bill unconstitutional, finding that it infringes on young Montanans’ right to vote.
Chicago Votes has been working to expand voting access to people in jail. In 2019 they were able to help pass a senate bill making Cook County Jail the first jail in the country to become a polling place. And thanks to Chicago Votes organizers, Cook County Jail had record turnout of 24.9% for the 2022 primary election (which is higher than Chicago’s at-large turnout of around 20%).
Learn More About Democracy Done Right
Join the campaign by signing the petition today. We’re calling on elected leaders to support us in creating a modern voting system that works for the America we are, not the America we were.
Check out our protect democracy initiatives, read how young people in battleground states are anticipating access to the ballot with our latest poll results, and share the campaign on social media over on the Democracy Done Right webpage.
Share Your Story
We are rolling out the red carpet to celebrate first-time voters making their Democracy Debut this November! More than 8 million young people have turned 18 since the 2020 election. Imagine a world where every single one of them cast their ballot in the 2022 midterm elections.
We want to make sure the wave of new voters feel confident about making their democracy debut into their civic engagement journey. Are you voting for the first time in this year’s midterm elections? We want to hear from you! Tell us your story and tell the world that you’re making your democracy debut!