About Us
Have you heard of Democracy North Carolina? If not, you should get to know us. We are a statewide nonpartisan organization that uses research, advocacy, organizing, civic engagement and training programs to address the key issues affecting democracy in North Carolina. Our goal is to create a thriving democracy in our state, one that welcomes the participation of everyone and results in a government free from corruption as well as public policies that represent the best interests of the people of NC.
On behalf of the people of North Carolina, we have fought to:
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Implement innovative public campaign financing programs that have brought NC national acclaim.
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Advocate for Early Voting and Same Day Registration.
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Educate citizens on their rights as constituents.
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Train new generations of leaders for our state.
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Track the connections between big money donations and special interest legislation.
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Anchor local coalitions in many NC cities.
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Protect voter rights.
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Expose corruption in public office.
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Win stricter ethical standards for government officials.
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Regulate lobbyist donations and behavior.
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Partner with organizations that represent NC voters of many different backgrounds and many different political affiliations.
Explore this section to find out more about our mission, our focus, who we are, why we believe in partnership and where we host local coalitions.
Our 2010 Focus
Advocating For New Electoral Reforms
Democracy NC’s priority issue is public campaign financing. The success of NC’s Public Campaign Fund and Council of State Voter-Owned Elections Program has inspired us to advocate for more Voter-Owned Elections programs. Goals for the 2010 legislative session include promoting a public financing option for NC cities, expansion of the Council of State program and a legislative Voter-Owned Elections pilot program — plus stronger ethics and disclosure rules to thwart pay-to-play politics.
We will also devote our energies to promoting implementation of the recently-passed bill that allows 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register to vote, advocating for other pro-democracy legislation, helping make sure historically undercounted populations are accurately reflected in the 2010 census and continuing our work in ex-felon re-enfranchisement.
Past Achievements
2008: The Year of the Voter in NC
Democracy NC played the leading role in making NC the largest state in the nation with Same-Day Registration (adopted in 2007) and the state with a public campaign financing option for the largest number of statewide offices.
In 2008, our field staff coordinated nonpartisan coalitions in five metro areas plus a statewide Souls to the Polls campaign that helped NC post the greatest gain in voter turnout over 2004 of any state.
We also distributed 600,000 voter-info flyers, provided data, lists and training to 350 volunteers, and received 225,000 hits on our 2008ElectionConnection website in 2008.
2009 has been a big year for leadership training, coalition-building, policy advocacy, census preparation, investigative research and more.
A History of Action
Democracy North Carolina traces its roots back to 1970, when the Institute for Southern Studies was founded by veterans of the civil rights movement — primarily white activists from the Southern Student Organizing Committee and black activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. We began as an Institute project and then became the NC Project of Democracy South. On January 1, 2003, Democracy South's North Carolina Money in Politics Project, with its seven staff members, became known as Democracy North Carolina. As you can guess from our roots, we remain committed to promoting and protecting the equal rights for all North Carolinians — including equal voting rights, equal representation in government and an equal voice in shaping policies. As the successor to Democracy South's North Carolina project, we also remain committed to focusing public attention on the need for innovative reforms of the electoral process — the foundation of our representative democracy.
