The Time is Now for Philanthropy to Invest in the 2020 Election
We are about eight months out from a critical national election, and it is also a decennial census year. The stakes for democracy in 2020 are high; unfortunately, misformation and distrust in our institutions is at an all-time high as well.
Super Tuesday showed increased turnout in some locations, but it followed on the heels of news of potential foreign election meddling and a disastrous Iowa caucus which brought caution and concern around our election. Adam Ambrogi of the Democracy Fund reminds us that we shouldn’t let the Iowa caucus debacle erode our faith in our voting process, but philanthropy can step up to ensure that we are doing all we can to secure the integrity of the 2020 election.
This theme was readily discussed in February on PACE’s first member call of 2020. Joe Goldman of the Democracy Fund anchored the conversation for us as our members shared some of the themes and challenges they are grappling with this year.
Throughout the call, we discussed themes related to fighting misinformation and polarization, earning and restoring trust in our institutions and systems, and combating political violence. But what rose to the top a particularly salient challenge was finding ways to balance the need for short-term and immediate investments that respond to what’s happening now, while also taking a long-term approach to strengthening and advancing liberal democracy (with a “small l”) and its institutions and values into the future.
Some of our members’ core missions are to focus on the short-term civic engagement needs in 2020 — whether that be volunteer recruitment and training (including poll workers and election volunteers), voter registration and turnout, or securing our election systems. While other members generally focus their resources and energy on long-term visions for healthy democracy.
In addition to the need to balance short vs. long-term civic engagement priorities, it was made clear that if short-term investments are to happen, philanthropy needs to act now. Organizations need to know what resources they will have over the next eight months to effectively plan, mobilize, and act. In terms of this election cycle, several members reiterated that the window for meaningful investment is quickly closing. But there are also important bets that still need to be made to ensure that organizations can respond to possible scenarios the wake of the election (such as a recount or a candidate refusing to concede a loss), and even longer-term to restore the health of liberal democracy as a system.
To combat the potential for political violence and increased distrust in our election process, members presented several ideas and solutions that they are focused on this year.
One main theme was how trust hinges on the quality of our systems — whether that be training and managing volunteers, educating the public with trustworthy information, or strengthening our cybersecurity. Members noted that misinformation and polarization are interconnected, and by working together to earn and build much-needed confidence in our election systems, we will simultaneously be fighting the potential for misformation as well as “turning down the heat” on the flashpoints that deepen political and societal polarization.
As philanthropy solidifies their voting and broader civic engagement investments for 2020, PACE members articulated a sentiment that action is needed to ensure this election lives up to its highest ideals of being a free, fair, and secure process with trustworthy results that accurately reflect the will of voters.
What are you doing to ensure the highest quality 2020 election possible? We invite PACE members and others to share your priorities for the 2020 election and beyond — we’d love to hear how else we can prioritize the health and safety of our democracy.
