America Votes is a

501(c)(4) organization A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

that aims "to coordinate and promote progressive issues." America Votes leads national and state-based coalitions to advance progressive policies and increase

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

for

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidates. America Votes was created prior to the

2004 United States presidential election The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...

Ellen Malcolm Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010. Early life Malcolm's ...

, the founder of

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

; former

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

executive director Carl Pope; Harold Ickes; Steve Rosenthal; and

Andy Stern Andrew L. Stern (born November 22, 1950) is the former president of the Service Employees International Union, and now serves as its President Emeritus. Stern has been a senior fellow at Georgetown University, Columbia University, and is now a ...

, the former president of

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of member ...

(SEIU). Greg Speed serves as president of the organization.

Activities

According to the

Center for Public Integrity The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to c ...

, "America Votes, a national liberal nonprofit group with significant union funding, made the 2011 and 2012 Wisconsin recall elections a top priority, providing a major cash infusion to a handful of groups that helped organize the efforts." America Votes donated $940,000 toward the ultimately unsuccessful recall effort against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Funding

America Votes does not disclose its donors. The group raised $12.7 million in 2013, and projects revenue of $8.5 million in 2014. According to the

, "Between 40 percent and 50 percent of that sum is projected to come from wealthy donors connected to the

Democracy Alliance The Democracy Alliance is a network of progressive donors who coordinate their political donations to groups that the Alliance has endorsed. It has been described by ''Politico'' as "the country's most powerful liberal donor club". Members of th ...

, a secretive nonprofit whose funders include the likes of billionaire investor

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

and author, horticulturalist and philanthropist Amy Goldman." In 2018, the Sixteen Thirty Fund gave America Votes $27 million. The $27 million grant was nearly twice the amount America Votes had previously ever raised in a single year.

Donors

The following groups have donated to America Votes: *

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

(over $1 million between October 2012 and September 2013) *

($443,000) *

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

($333,000) *

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

($28,000) *

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

Ballot Initiative Strategy Center The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) is a liberal American advocacy organization which tries to motivate voters to go to the polls through the strategic deployment of liberal-oriented ballot initiatives. The group provides legal advice and ...

* Tides Advocacy Fund ($1.8 million in 2012 election cycle) *

Fred Eychaner Fred Eychaner (born c. 1945) is an American businessman and philanthropist. Eychaner is the chairman of Newsweb Corporation. He was included in ''Chicago'' magazine's 2014 list of the 100 most powerful Chicagoans. In 2005, the ''Chicago Tribune' ...

Jon Stryker Jon Lloyd Stryker (born c. 1958) is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune. As reported by Forbes, Stryker's net worth is estimated at $4.2 billion. Stryker is t ...

Member organizations

The following groups are listed on the America Votes website as "national partners": *

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

(AFSCME) *

American Association for Justice The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organiza ...

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 perc ...

Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...

* Bull Moose Sportsmen Alliance *

Center for Community Change Community Change, formerly the Center for Community Change (CCC), is a progressive community organizing group active in the United States. It was founded in 1968 in response to civil rights concerns of the 1960s and to honor Robert F. Kennedy. Th ...

Clean Water Action Clean Water Action is an American environmental advocacy group. Created in 1972, the group focuses on canvassing and gaining support for political issues and candidates. It is a 501(c)(4) organization and is based in Washington, D.C. History The ...

Environment America Environment America is a federation of state-based environmental advocacy organizations in the United States. The organization researches and advocates for environmental policies through lobbying, litigation, and the mobilization of public suppor ...

Every Voice Every Voice is an American nonprofit, progressive liberal political advocacy organization.

* Fair Elections Legal Network * Fair Share *

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

International Association of Fire Fighters The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is a labor union representing paid full-time firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in the United States and Canada. The IAFF was formed in 1918 and is affiliated with the AFL ...

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands; ...

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) is a United States liberal advocacy group whose goal is to protect Social Security and Medicare. NCPSSM works to preserve entitlement programs through direct mail campaigns, ...

National Council of La Raza UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizens ...

* People for the American Way *

Planned Parenthood Action Fund The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...

* Progressive Majority * ProgressNow Action *

(SEIU) *

* The Voter Participation Center *

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

USAction USAction was a 501(c)(4) federation of progressive community organizing groups. It was founded in 1999 by Heather Booth. Its 501(c)(3) counterpart was the USAction Education Fund. In September 2007, TrueMajority and its related organization True ...

VoteVets VoteVets.org is a political action committee (PAC) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States. The organization prioritizes American defense, national security, and veterans advocacy. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and J ...

* Women's Equality Center *

Working America Working America is the political organizing arm of the AFL–CIO. Its membership is made up of non- union individuals. It is the largest non-union workers' group in the United States, with a self-reported membership of 3.2 million individuals. Wo ...

References

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External links

America Votes website
527 organizations Progressive organizations in the United States 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations