At Democracy North Carolina, voter education, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities and protecting voter rights are all part of our civic engagement focus. But we do more than educate NC citizens on how to vote.

 

We also use our advocacy, organizing and training resources to inspire people to stay engaged in elections and state government after Election Day.

 

This section describes our civic engagement activities and outlines ways you can be a part of them. We conduct all of these activities on a nonpartisan basis, working in partnerships with local, state and national organizations. 

Voter Education

Each year, we create a voting education website and use our organizing resources to let voters know how to register, what their voting options and voter rights are, and where they can find information on candidates so they can make thoughtful ballot choices. Our goal is to create a permanent commitment to voting within people by changing their mindset and helping them to understand that they are the government. 

 

Voter Activism

The key to holding elected officials accountable is to get them to go on record in the first place about what they intend to do and what they purport to stand for. Our local coalitions work hard each year to encourage community groups to sponsor candidate forums and to motivate voters to ask hard questions of the candidates, especially questions about campaign donations and money in politics. We also educate voters on how to have their voice heard in government decision making and how to report violations so that we can all be a part of Election Protection.

 

GOTV

Our organizing resources are also crucial to our efforts in training local groups on how to register and mobilize voters during election season. We provide GOTV materials, help groups formulate their GOTV strategies, reach out to faith communities and other nonpartisan organizations, act as liaison with local boards of elections boards of elections and provide voter lists and coordination for phone banks and canvassing.

 

Citizen Advocacy

One of the most important elements of a government by the people is an active constituency – one that speaks up about the direction it wants government to take and what policies their government needs to follow. Much of our citizen advocacy training has to do with making sure this happens or making sure officials are listening when their constituents do speak up. Through local coalition training and statewide action alerts, we teach people how to communicate effectively with elected officials, how to hold officials accountable for their campaign promises and how citizens can contribute to public policy discussions. As part of this process, we emphasize teaching North Carolinians how to advocate for Voter-Owned Elections as a way to restore citizens to their rightful role at the center of elections and government.

 

Community Activism

Activism begins at home. Our local coalitions and organizing efforts encourage people to become involved in their communities in a variety of ways:

• Educating others on how to vote and have their voices heard;
• Participate in leadership training;
• Applying all of the activities you see listed here on a local level;
• Spreading the word about our issues within their community;
• Becoming leaders and spokespersons for important local issues.

 

Not only do we build stronger communities in this manner – we are helping to create new leaders for NC’s future as well.

 

Encouraging Public Service

We are deeply committed to identifying and training new leaders for our state. We do this by involving potential leaders in our local organizing activities, offering them training to develop their potential, making them leaders in our advocacy efforts and encouraging them to support Voter-Owned Elections so that, one day, the door to office might open for them. We also sponsor a renowned training program for outstanding college students called Democracy Summer and are proud that so many of the over 100 young adults we have trained through this program have chosen to pursue careers in public service or nonprofit sectors.