Debra Cleaver
WEBSITE
CONTACT INFORMATION
EMAIL LIST
The best way to get on our email list is to use one of our tools or sign up for election reminders at https://reminders.vote.org/
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/votedotorg/
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WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ATTENDEES TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Vote.org uses technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy. In 2016 we ran one of the largest voter registration drives in the country (672435 voters), and ran the single largest Election Day Get-Out-The-Vote effort (981,234 voters). In 2017 we are running GOTV to 180+ local elections. In 2018 we will be reaching out to the 10 million people under 30 who voted for the very first time in 2016 and encouraging them to vote again in the midterm elections as part of a larger initiative to make voting a habit in the US, and not a hobby.
ANY UPCOMING EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS, OR WAYS TO DONATE?
If you’d like to make a donation you can do so here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/votedotorg?refcode=joyouspersistence
WHAT LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENCOURAGE FROM EVERY ATTENDEE?
We tend to not have very many opportunities for volunteers, although we do appreciate the energy and enthusiasm! There are several ways to stay involved, however:
Sign up for Election Reminders here: https://www.vote.org/election-reminders/
Donate $20 to help us run GOTV to 10 voters in 2018: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/votedotorg?refcode=joyouspersistence
Tell your friends about vote.org :)
WHAT MARCHING ORDERS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENCOURAGE FROM EACH ATTENDEE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE?
Only 16.54% of voters are registered Republicans. Republicans control the White House, Congress, 68 out of 99 state legislative chambers, 33 out of 50 Governorships, and countless local seats because they vote, not because they are the more popular party.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?
“If you work day and night for 10 years, you too can be an overnight success.”
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
Radical Focus: Achieving your most important goals with objectives and key results by Christina Wodtke
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING SELF-CARE DURING THESE TIMES?
That’s an excellent question. I’ll get back to you when I stop working 7 days a week.
BIOGRAPHY
Debra Cleaver has been working at the intersection of technology and democracy since 2004. She currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Vote.org, a nonpartisan nonprofit digital voting organization that aims to use digital technology to remove barriers to voting and increase voter turnout. Vote.org launched to much acclaim, winning the prestigious Knight News Challenge in 2015, and accepted into Y Combinator's 2016 Summer Cohort.
Debra’s passion for increasing voter turnout began after witnessing the close results of the 2000 presidential election. In 2004 Debra joined with Swing the State to organize volunteers online to register voters in swing states. Convinced there was a better way to register voters than going door-to-door, Debra spent the next four years exploring the ways technology could engage more people in elections.
In 2008, with $5000 and a small team of volunteers, Debra launched Long Distance Voter. The goal of Long Distance Voter was providing resources for absentee voters that were motivated but underserved. In only four short years, Long Distance voter reached 3 million views. Long Distance Voter emerged as a voting powerhouse during the 2012 election season--of the 129 million Americans voted in 2012, 2 million of them visited longdistancevoter.org first. One day Debra hopes to increase voter turnout to a full 100 percent. Her work has been featured in many news outlets including Forbes, Mic, The Huffington Post, and Bustle.