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RepresentUs is a
nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
focused on ending political corruption in the United States. It refuses to take donations from political parties and it neither endorses nor opposes particular political candidates. Funded by donations and grants, it is run mostly by volunteers aligned in a
grassroots organizing A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
network, and it has brought in high-profile celebrities to advance its message. It advertises, produces videos, and generates publicity with speeches and demonstrations and protests.


Mission and objectives

The chief focus of the organization is to end political corruption. For that end, it pushes for reforms to protect voting rights, eliminate gerrymandering, overhaul lobbying, promote financial transparency particularly regarding political donations, promote ranked choice voting and open primaries and campaign finance reform. It favors independent and bipartisan redistricting commissions for drawing congressional maps. It advocates passage of the
Freedom to Vote Act The For the People Act, introduced as H.R.1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new eth ...
. Its aim is to pass "powerful state and local laws that fix our broken elections and stop political bribery," according to an account in ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
''. It supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the
For the People Act The For the People Act, introduced as H.R.1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new eth ...
. It tries to put "power back in the hands of the voters." Along these lines, spokespersons including
Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people i ...
and
Khloé Kardashian Khloé Alexandra Kardashian (; born June 27, 1984) is an American media personality and socialite. Since 2007, she has starred with her family in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success has led to the cre ...
have called for greater access for at-home voting in presidential primaries. An initial stated goal was to pass the
American Anti-Corruption Act The American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA), sometimes shortened to Anti-Corruption Act, is a piece of model legislation designed to limit the influence of money in American politics by overhauling lobbying, transparency, and campaign finance laws. ...
. It was written with the insights of political strategists, democratic reformers, and constitutional attorneys from various parts of the political spectrum; one of the authors was RepresentUs's co-founder,
Josh Silver (nonprofit director) Josh Silver (born April 16, 1968) is an American nonprofit executive and political consultant who is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of RepresentUs, a post-partisan, nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to build the movement that ...
. It was unveiled in 2012. It is an example of model legislation in that it was drafted in such a way that it could be used by various jurisdictions with a minimal need for editing, while continuing to be consistent with the current constitutional structure. The act overhauls
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
, encourages greater political transparency, and reforms campaign finance laws. RepresentUs generally focuses not on the federal government but instead on local and state governments, since it figures it has the most leverage there; accordingly, it ignores United States
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
such as
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. It chose not to go to Congress directly because, in its view, congresspersons have already been corrupted by special interests and are unlikely to support substantive reform. It calls for a national voting standard by enacting laws at the local level. It has achieved results in progressive states, conservative states, and so-called "toss-up" states, and it tailors its efforts according to the particulars of each locality. It promotes
ballot initiatives In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
which allow citizens to vote on reform measures directly, and it ignores in-office politicians hobbled by political gridlock at the federal level. The idea is to build momentum for national reform by starting at the local level with a grassroots approach. RepresentUs figures that if it can enlist the engagement of eleven million Americans, or about 3.5 percent of the population, it can effect substantive change to protect democracy, citing studies that show that that percentage is needed to effect change.


Leadership and organization

Josh Silver and Joshua Graham Lynn co-founded the group in 2012. In January 2022, Lynn became the chief executive officer and Silver became the Executive Chairman. Lynn's professional background is in marketing and creative services. The organization that they founded is a project of the 501(c)4 organization United Republic which is a principal sponsor of the American Anti-Corruption Act. RepresentUs is headquartered in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. The management of RepresentUs is divided into several branches: a board of directors, an advisory council, a cultural council, and a full-time staff. They include numerous high-profile leaders, including former FEC commissioner
Trevor Potter Trevor Potter (born October 24, 1955) is a lawyer, former commissioner and chairman of the United States Federal Election Commission. He is the Founder and President of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization which works in the areas ...
, Harvard law professor
Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard ...
, disgraced lobbyist-turned-reformer
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction a ...
, representatives from
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...
and the DC
Tea Party Patriots The Tea Party Patriots is an American conservative political organization founded in 2009 as part of the Tea Party movement. It is known for organizing citizen opposition to the Affordable Care Act during the presidency of Barack Obama, and more ...
, and the great-grandson of the former president,
Theodore Roosevelt IV Theodore Roosevelt V ( ) (born November 27, 1942), also called Theodore IV, is an American investment banker and managing director at Barclays Investment Bank. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, ...
. Actor
Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people i ...
is on the board of directors. Numerous chapters nationwide are led by volunteers. They organize public education and activities to support local anti-corruption initiatives. There are more than forty local chapters including ones in
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, the
Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...
of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. Volunteer Mary Richards of
Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...
explained why she is leading a local chapter; as a nurse, she realized that the problems with the healthcare system were a "direct result of a broken political system" and she became frustrated with a system that is "rigged against us." Volunteer John House, president of the New Mexico branch, feels that "our democracy is under siege", so he organized a demonstration in Santa Fe to call for filibuster reform and for approval of the
John Lewis Voting Rights Act The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021H.R. 4 is proposed voting rights legislation named after civil rights activist John Lewis. The bill would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, most notably its requi ...
. Volunteer Renaldo Pearson walked six hundred miles from
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
as a media stunt to show his support for voter protections, safer elections and an end to political corruption. During his journey, he received a positive tweet of support from actor
Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...
. Volunteer Ash Orr of the
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
chapter organized small business owners into a coalition to support the
For the People Act The For the People Act, introduced as H.R.1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new eth ...
. RepresentUs is organized into two affiliated nonprofit entities for tax purposes. Its
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
education fund engages in public education, movement building and advocacy; for example, it publishes an online blog which chronicles campaign finance news, called ''The Bulletin''. Its
501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, 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 exe ...
fund engages in legislative lobbying at the municipal and state levels. It is funded by individual donations as well as grants from
philanthropic foundations A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable act ...
. Donors are listed on its website. It does not accept money from governments, intergovernmental organizations, political parties, or corporations to avoid their influence. In one virtual gala event entitled ''United To Save The Vote'', RepresentUs raised $2.1 million to help promote secure absentee ballots and safe in-person voting locations. RepresentUs has been working with the organization Princeton Gerrymandering Process to identify and rate each state's congressional redistricting plans. It has worked with organizations such as VoteSafe and the County Every Hero coalitions, to counter misinformation about alleged voter fraud and to educate the public about the need for safe and secure elections. They've reached out to other groups of voters, such as military people; their "Count Every Hero" effort is an effort to make sure that service members' votes are counted appropriately.


Communications

RepresentUs engages in a variety of communications strategies to try to reach and persuade people. They partner with advertising agencies and public relations firms and marketing professionals to create innovative advertisements and promotions as well as manage creative media stunts. They are active on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. Their leaders write
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
opinion pieces in major media and make speeches in public venues; for example, actor Jennifer Lawrence and co-founder Lynn appeared together at a high school in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
to speak with students about the pressing need to fight political corruption. The group criticized a redistricting proposal by Florida governor
Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...
in early 2022 to further gerrymander Florida's congressional districts.


Advertising and media campaigns

RepresentUs created a fictional presidential candidate played by actor Frank Ridley to be the character 'Gil Fulbright'. The intent was to focus public attention on corruption. They ran a fake
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
campaign in 2014, and in 2016, the Fulbright character "ran" for
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. The presidential launch video garnered over one million views in less than 24 hours. The fictional Fulbright character went on to beat several real candidates in a 2016 presidential
straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gain ...
, and out-fundraised legitimate Democratic presidential candidate
Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...
. RepresentUs launched a campaign entitled ''Justice for Sale'' in 2020 that focused on highlighting problems with America's criminal justice system. Actor
Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film role ...
and voting rights activist Desmond Meade narrated the video. The organization hired the advertising firm named ''Mischief @ No Fixed Address'' to cause a pizza parlor to restrict its deliveries to within gerrymandered delivery zones, so that persons who lived outside the zone were excluded from getting pizza. The purpose of the stunt was to illustrate the absurdity of gerrymandering with a consumer delivery issue, and it garnered national media attention. Working with the Leo Burnett advertising agency, RepresentUs had them create a font based on the shapes of gerrymandered
congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
, called Ugly Gerry; it features gerrymandered characters for the letters A through Z, no numbers, and below each character it says "No rights reserved". Board member and actor Jennifer Lawrence starred in a short film produced by RepresentUs entitled ''Unbreaking America: Solving the Corruption Crisis'' which described how the United States is a "broken democracy" and what actions people can take to remedy the situation. In the Lawrence-narrated plan which proceeded for twelve minutes, she outlined a solution as adopting the American Anti-Corruption Act. She warned, "If you do nothing, nothing changes." A video starring the comedian
Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' i ...
urged support for the For The People Act so that "politicians can't steal our goddamn elections." The group enlisted the support of various podcasters to promote pro-democracy issues on their podcasts; the podcasters included the publisher
Pushkin Industries Pushkin Industries is an American publisher of podcasts and audiobooks. It was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg. As of 2021, it hosts over 25 podcasts. History The company was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jac ...
,
Radiotopia Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by ''99% Invisible'' host Roman Mars and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their work. P ...
, The Sporkful,
Avery Trufelman Avery Trufelman is an American podcaster and radio producer best known for her work on ''99% Invisible'' (2013–2020) and its spin-off, ''Articles of Interest'' (2018–present). Background Born into a "radio family" of two WNYC producers, Truf ...
, and
Dan Le Batard Dan Le Batard is an American newspaper sportswriter, ex radio host, podcast host and television reporter based in Miami, Florida. He has also worked at ESPN, and for his hometown paper, the ''Miami Herald'', for which he wrote from 1990 to 2016. ...
. RepresentUs produced an advertisement entitled ''Transmissions from the Future'' featuring pop singer
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
and actor
Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001), ''The Two Towers'' (2002), a ...
which issued a dire warning to Americans about the possible upcoming death of democracy. The Perry-Bloom spot was displayed prominently in New York City, on the NASDAQ, at Reuters and at One Times Square. In another advertisement in 2021, RepresentUs spoofed
erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
ads with one about ''electile dysfunction''; in it,
Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
appeared with comedian and actor
Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' C ...
and actor Jonathan Scott to use humor to urge passage of the
Freedom to Vote Act The For the People Act, introduced as H.R.1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new eth ...
. The ad debuted on ''
The Rachel Maddow Show ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (also abbreviated ''TRMS'') is an American liberal news and opinion television program that airs on MSNBC, running in the 9:00 pm ET timeslot Monday evenings. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained a public pr ...
'' and garnered 300,000 views on social media. The actor
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom ''The Offic ...
urged action in another video on the
student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...
debt crisis. In 2020 the group made a video using
deepfake Deepfakes (a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake") are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. While the act of creating fake content is not new, deepfakes leverage powerful ...
technology which showed current dictators warning about the death of democracy. The intent was to try to show Americans how serious the current issues are. Often advertisements are bolstered with simultaneous social media campaigns. For example, when they released their deepfake advertisement, they supplemented the advertisements with tandem social media posts by Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Lawrence, Ed Helms,
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in ''Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in ''My Name Is Earl'', Savan ...
, and Kathy Griffin. In another advertisement, they enlisted prominent celebrities to appear "naked" to illustrate how a ballot is considered unusable, or "naked", if it is not filled out properly before being mailed. The spot included
Tiffany Haddish Tiffany Sara Cornilia Haddish (born December 3, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. After guest-starring on several television series and lead role on a cable drama, Haddish gained prominence for her role as Nekeisha Williams on ...
,
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...
, Amy Schumer,
Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show ''Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, ...
,
Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...
, Mark Ruffalo,
Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...
and her father Donald,
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...
,
Ryan Michelle Bathe Ryan Michelle Bathé (born July 27, 1976) is an American actress. Early life Bathe's mother is Clare Bathé, an actress and singer who was a member of the late 1970s funk/disco/rock group Machine. She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. She gra ...
, and a fully dressed
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
. RepresentUs gave it out unbranded to allow various media platforms to copy it without charge, to enable further dissemination of its message.


Protests and demonstrations

RepresentUs has sponsored and promoted demonstrations to win media attention to their cause. A chapter instigated rallies to protest gerrymandered congressional districts in
La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...
. Another one participated in a candlelight vigil in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
in January 2022, to remember the one year anniversary following the
2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
. Silver explained the logic of an unusual protest in Washington D.C. Approximately 700 people dressed up as $100 bills ran down K Street toward the Capitol, knowing that they would be blocked from entry by the Capitol police; at that point, the demonstrators would honor the police with a golden plaque for doing what Congress has been afraid of doing, namely, keeping money out of Congress. In its hundred dollar bills demonstration, leaders from the Tea Party as well as from the Bold Progressives participated by giving speeches, a further sign according to Silver that RepresentUs includes persons from across the ideological divide.


Celebrity involvement

The organization has attracted the volunteer help of celebrities from the entertainment and sporting world. The list of participants includes actors for example: Jennifer Lawrence, singer Katy Perry and comedian Kathy Griffin. It also includes basketball star Stephen Curry, actor
Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...
and voting rights activist Desmond Meade What inspired Lawrence to become more active in politics was the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in 2016, prompting her to no longer be a "little Republican", as she described herself, and she joined RepresentUs soon thereafter. Lawrence and Kardashian called for greater access for at-home voting in presidential primaries in one video.


Research

RepresentUs has a research department that studies corruption-related issues. One such issue is
gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
which was particularly important in 2020 and 2021 when congressional district maps were being redrawn based on the 2020 census. RepresentUs monitored redistricting efforts to assess fairness. It publishes a ''Gerrymandering Threat Index'', and in conjunction with the Princeton Innovation Lab, it issues a ''Redistricting Report Card''. It reported that
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
did a better job of redistricting than Virginia.
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
have extremely gerrymandered congressional districts. On its extreme threat list were the states of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
and
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
since politicians are heavily involved in the congressional cartography. It graded the state of Texas with an 'F' for having a "significant Republican advantage," and described it as dangerous since it "gives politicians complete control over an often-secretive, poorly-protected redistricting process". Both parties engage in gerrymandering; if Texas is heavily gerrymandered toward Republicans, Illinois is heavily gerrymandered toward Democrats. According to Silver, gerrymandering can tilt the balance of power in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
; he faults gerrymandering for leading to extremism and partisan gridlock. In addition, RepresentUs conducts public opinion polls on selected issues. It sponsored a poll in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
which found that 90% of voters oppose drawing voting districts to favor one party or candidate. Its research suggests that wide swaths of the public "across partisan lines" are dissatisfied with the current system of American governance and are ready for reform measures. Further, it shares its findings with other organizations; for example, ''
Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...
'' used research from RepresentUs to help build an interactive information resource for voters.


Annual conferences

RepresentUs holds an annual conference called ''Unrig Summit'' in a different city each year. Its first conference was held in February 2018 in New Orleans. In March 2019, 2,000 persons attended the conference in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
including
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
official Kate Gilmore,
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
advocate X González,
voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
activist Desmond Meade, and actress and comedian
Sasheer Zamata Sasheer Zamata Moore (; born May 6, 1986) is an American actress and comedian known for her work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2014 to 2017 as well as her leading roles in the TV series ''Woke'' (2020–2022) and ''Home Econom ...
. Actress and RepresentUs board member Lawrence released a short film detailing the organization's political aims to a general audience. According to RepresentUs, the summit is the largest national event that attempts to address underlining causes of dysfunction in the United States government. In 2020 and 2021, no in-person conferences were held because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


History


Beginnings

The organization was co-founded by
Josh Silver Josh Silver (born November 14, 1962) is an American musician who is the former keyboardist, producer and backing vocalist of gothic metal band Type O Negative. He joined the band at frontman Peter Steele's request. He played for Type O Negat ...
and Joshua Graham Lynn in 2012. What partially spurred them to act was the 2010
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
decision on ''
Citizens United Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
''. The pair studied statistics and research which led them to believe that a root cause of American political dysfunction was failed elections. They wanted to focus on "bridging the ideological divide". They learned that the preferences of average Americans were having zero impact on public policy. Silver saw a steady erosion of ethical standards in Congress during the past fifty years, with money flowing into and out of the US Capitol in the form of campaign contributions to elected officials or going to lawmakers who oversee regulated industries. One of the first acts of RepresentUs was to support the 2011
American Anti-Corruption Act The American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA), sometimes shortened to Anti-Corruption Act, is a piece of model legislation designed to limit the influence of money in American politics by overhauling lobbying, transparency, and campaign finance laws. ...
. It had been written by former FEC Commissioner
Trevor Potter Trevor Potter (born October 24, 1955) is a lawyer, former commissioner and chairman of the United States Federal Election Commission. He is the Founder and President of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization which works in the areas ...
in consultation with Lawrence Lessig and other constitutional lawyers and scholars. As an example of model legislation, it was designed to be fully compatible with previous decisions by the Supreme Court such as its ''Citizens United v. FEC'' 2010 decision as well as subsequent rulings, so that local governments could use it as a model and adapt it to write their own anti-corruption legislation. The purposes of the act were to stop political bribery by making it illegal for politicians to accept money from the special interests that they regulate, as well as ending secret money, so people could identify the sources of all political contributions and move elections toward small-dollar, voter-funded campaigns. In 2014 in
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
, voters approved a
city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
amendment modeled after the act that established a city ethics commission, imposed stricter contribution limits on candidates for city office, and created a public financing system. What was instructive to the co-founders was that the initiative succeeded with support from a politically diverse coalition which included the Chair of the Florida
Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
Network, the former President of the Florida
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
, the Chairman of Florida Common Cause, and a former Democratic County Commissioner.


2016 election year

In 2016 the organization succeeded in bringing about thirteen successful state and local anti-corruption acts and resolutions. In
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, it brought about the sweeping political reform package known as IM-22 which overhauled campaign finance rules and banned secret and unlimited gifts from lobbyists to politicians, as well as required greater transparency for campaign contributions and toughened the enforcement of state ethics laws. In
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
, it established ranked choice voting with its
2016 Maine Question 5 Maine Question 5, formally An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting,https://www1.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/citizensguide2016.pdf is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It ...
for all statewide elections. In
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, with its Amendment 2, it limited individual contributions to candidates running for state or judicial office to the amount of $2,600 per election, and to $25,000 to political parties per election; before that, there had been no limits on such contributions. In
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
with its Question 2, it restored the constitutional authority of the state's ethics commission, giving it the power to police ethics violations by members of the General Assembly. In
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, it passed a state call to overturn the ''Citizens United v. FEC, Citizens United'' decision with its Washington Initiative 735. It promoted a similar effort in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
with a statewide call to overturn ''Citizens United'' with California Proposition 59. In 2016 the organization achieved similar results at the municipal level. Resolutions are often initiated by members of the local chapters, which get technical assistance and organizational support from RepresentUs's national staff. Anti-Corruption resolutions are mandates demonstrating public support for such measures. In San Francisco, the city banned gifts from lobbyists to elected officials and from hiding contributions by bundling them together with its Proposition T. In the neighboring city of Berkeley, Measure X1 encouraged candidates to accept only donations from Berkeley residents, and to impose a maximum donation per person of only $50; candidates who agree to such terms are then rewarded with six dollars of public financing for every one dollar donation from residents. In
Howard County, Maryland Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 287,085. As of the 2020 census its population rose to 328,200. Its county seat is Ellicott City. Howard County is included in the Baltimore-Colu ...
, an amendment to the county charter, dubbed 'Question A', established the Citizens Election Fund for races for the county's council and executive positions. In
Benton County, Oregon Benton County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,184. Its county seat is Corvallis. The county was named after Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator who advocated American contr ...
, Measure 2-100 established ranked choice voting for local elections. In
Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...
, Measure 26-184 limited contributions from individuals and PACs to $500, limited independent spending, and requires donors to disclose the original sources of monies for campaign advertising. In
Boone County, Illinois Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,448. Its county seat is Belvidere. Boone County is included in the Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Unlike most ...
and in
McHenry County, Illinois McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Woodstock. McHenry County is one of the f ...
, ballot questions were added calling on local and federal officials to pass legislation based on the American Anti-Corruption Act. Anti-corruption legislation and resolutions have been passed in Tallahassee, Florida,
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, Princeton, New Jersey,
Genoa, Illinois Genoa is a city in the north-east corner of DeKalb County, Illinois, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the historic Galena-Chicago trail, Galena-Chicago stagecoach route. At the 2020 census the city had a population of 5,29 ...
,, Massachusetts State House Districts 2 and 19,
Ewing Township, New Jersey Ewing Township is a township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township falls within the New York metropolitan area as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. It borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is part of the F ...
,
DeKalb County, Illinois DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago-Naperville- Elgin, IL- IN- WI Metropolitan Stat ...
,
Winnebago County, Illinois Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 285,350 making it the seventh most populous county in Illinois behind Cook County and its five surrounding collar counties. ...
, and
Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
.


2018 election year

RepresentUs expanded their activity in the succeeding years and led a number of successful efforts in the 2018 election year. In
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, they helped thwart gerrymandering by creating a twelve-member independent commission to draw fair
congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
as well as state legislative districts, by passing Amendments Y&Z. In Michigan, activist Katie Fahey spearheaded an effort to reduce gerrymandering by creating an impartial citizen commission to draw up congressional and state districts, with its Proposal 2. In Missouri, it pushed for the ''Clean Missouri'' Amendment 1 to work against gerrymandering by creating a nonpartisan office called "The State Demographer" to draw impartial district lines. In Ohio, it promoted Issue 1, an anti-gerrymandering initiative that forces bipartisan agreement on the drawing of congressional district lines. In Utah, the
ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
Proposition 4 created a seven-member redistricting commission which required, among other things, that they release draft plans to the public before finalizing any maps. In Massachusetts, statewide Question 2 created a commission to study the effects of ''Citizens United''. In Maine, a
people's veto A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
entitled Question 1 protected ranked choice voting.


2019-present

Lynn sees serious threats to American democracy; if threats were assigned color codes, he would not use a yellow or orange but a red code to warn of imminent danger. While he describes himself as "fiercely nonpartisan", he claimed that Donald Trump pursued an " electoral coup" in early 2021. As of January 2022, RepresentUs has helped to pass about 130 anti-corruption and pro-democracy laws, according to an internal assessment made by Ross Sherman, a strategist working for RepresentUs. Silver unsuccessfully lobbied Democratic senators
Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of ...
and
Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema (; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona since January 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in ...
to "protect voting rights" and to end the filibuster. While the efforts of RepresentUs have born fruit in many states during the past ten years, with resolutions and laws passed, Silver claimed there would be "a decline into
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political '' status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...
" if the reforms pursued by his organization are not passed. Silver would like all elected officials to state a formal pledge, on the record, that they support anti-corruption measures to earn them a "seal of approval" devised by his organization.


References


External links

* *
Unbreaking America: Solving the Corruption Crisis
' YouTube video narrated by Jennifer Lawrence {{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts 2012 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 2012 Nonpartisan organizations in the United States