Common Cause volunteers used every method we could to get in touch with voters to make sure they knew their rights, had a plan to vote and cast their ballots on time.

Six in ten Americans send and receive text messages. In this 2020 election cycle, we used text messages to reach people we might not have been able to connect with otherwise, in a format we already know they’re comfortable using.  Through our tools, we connected with registered voters in target states across the country. This year, it was really important to make sure everyone stood up to be counted, so we focused on talking to a variety of voters, from never-voters to semi-frequent voters, to remind them to vote in November.

Our social media monitoring volunteers, monitored platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Next Door, and TikTok to help assist voters who post questions about voting and elections online and to flag misinformation and disinformation. We also gave our volunteers guidance to post the correct information on their own social media to protect the vote.

We saw huge amounts of deliberately spread incorrect information about voting in 2016, and we wanted to be ready to fight back in 2020.

Here’s what we were up against:

Misinformation: False information spread (regardless of intent) that could discourage or suppress votes — such as mistakenly sharing the wrong voter ID requirements or polling locations.

Disinformation: False information deliberately spread, with the intention of discouraging or suppressing votes — such as false claims about who is allowed to vote, or trying to keep people showing up at the polls altogether.

Our Social Impact

In addition to making sure, every eligible voter could cast their ballot freely, safely, and securely, we helped voters deliver a mandate for a stronger democracy:

Where do your candidates stand on Democracy?

The Our Democracy 2020 campaign makes sure voters know candidates’ positions on the democracy issues that matter to all Americans. We asked the 2020 candidates in your state and congressional district to go on the record about common sense democracy solutions.

We are asked every candidate for Congress, many state offices, and the White House their positions on important pro-democracy reforms — and if elected, we’ll hold them accountable to their answers.

111 incoming members of the 117th Congress have gone on the record in support of a bold democracy agenda.

Democracy on the Ballot

The people-led movement to strengthen our democracy continues as voters across the country vote on ballot measures dealing with money in politics, voting rights, redistricting, and ethics. This election season, we saw voters across the country stand with and for each other, rejecting attempts to divide us based on what we look like, where we come from or where we live.

Voters directly approved multiple democracy reform ballot measures this year, read a full review of them here.