Save Democracy in 2024
Democracy is on a knife’s edge.
So is every issue we care about.
In the 2024 elections, we must protect and expand the voting rights of youth, voters of color, and others from the most marginalized and disenfranchised communities — and empower them to vote in historic numbers.
Strategy: Target, Invest, Organize, Advance.
The MVF strategy is simple:
- Target the geographies most in need of civic investment.
- Invest in the best local voter organizing groups, with a focus on youth, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQ+, and immigrant voters.
- Organize voters who bear the brunt of injustice across our country.
- Advance democracy, equity, and sustainability through ongoing power building.
Strategy Overview
Giving a presentation? Here’s the deck.
The MVF 2024 Field Plan
The MVF 2024 Field Plan is a 12-month campaign with four key phases. In each phase, MVF grantee partners carry out crucial, distinctive work that builds toward the next.
For illustration purposes, here is a non-exhaustive (and simplified) roadmap. Timing, sequencing, and nuances will vary by state and organization.
PHASE 1 (January – March): Catalyze
- Align and refine strategy, internally and with statewide allies, for voter registration (helping eligible supporters register to vote) and mobilization (Get-Out-The-Vote / GOTV).
- Assess and build capacity by developing organizational and coalition-wide tools, skills, and systems to meet the anticipated challenges of the year ahead.
- Engage constituencies and recruit volunteers for the most robust operation possible.
PHASE 2 (April – June): Galvanize
- Identify and register voters among key geographies and demographics.
- Advance good bills that are aligned with the needs and interests of voters, particularly around the most salient issues such as abortion rights, criminalization, and economic security.
- Oppose bad bills that will hinder democracy, equity, and sustainability.
PHASE 3 (July – September): Mobilize
- Voter registration to ensure that every eligible voter is set up to vote.
- Voter engagement via peer organizing, canvassing, calls, texts, and events.
- Get Out the Early Vote in states with early voting by mail or in person.
PHASE 4 (October – December): Endgame
- Final Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) to maximize supporter turnout by Election Day — and for runoffs as needed, i.e. the U.S. Senate race in Georgia.
- Election protection to counter voter suppression, ensure all votes are counted, and overcome election subversion tactics by anti-democracy groups.
- Campaign evaluation to identify best practices and lessons learned. This period also includes crucial 2025 planning, when local partners’ focus will shift toward local power building and policy advocacy.
Read the Full Memo
Our new memo “Want to Save Democracy?” lays out a blueprint for how to achieve unprecedented turnout in 2024 in the most cost-effective way, through strategic investments in local grassroots organizations.
The memo includes:
- Four “pillars” of work that uniquely position MVF to catalyze lasting progress.
- Our integrative approach to measuring long-term impact.
- Three key strategies for building power in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.
- Ten case studies that only scratch the surface of our grassroots partners’ incredible work in states like Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.