MVF and our partners are working to defend democracy at a time of unprecedented attacks. These threats include restrictions on mail-in voting, mass disinformation, voter intimidation, threats of ICE at the polls, and the possibility of inaccurate vote counting and refusal to certify election results and seat duly elected leaders.
MVF and our partners have been preparing for months to defend our elections and be ready for whatever comes our way. We’re mobilizing a historic early voting turnout to create momentum that people can see and feel and to make sure voters can cast their ballots without problems. We’re combatting election mis- and disinformation by inoculating voters, especially in communities of color, against false election narratives and creating surround-sound messaging of pro-voter information. Finally, we are preparing for every possible scenario after the election and supporting leaders who have the highest levels of public trust to safeguard fair election results.
Photo: MVF partner BLOC MKE rallies for early voting in Milwaukee.
The best defense is a strong offense: massive early voting.
We need voters to show up in overwhelming numbers as early as possible to demonstrate strength and build momentum as soon as we can. Voting early expands the timeframe and methods by which voters cast their ballots, making it harder to sabotage than a concentrated push on Election Day. Voting early also gives voters more time to correct or overcome any challenges or complications they may face when casting their ballot.
MVF is working with national and state-based partners to launch early-vote campaigns, urging voters to cast their ballots early in-person or by mail — with our partners educating voters that mail-in voting is still running despite recent attempts to curtail it. To reach this scale of voters, especially among constituencies potentially skeptical of elections or concerned about voter intimidation tactics, we need to make voting fun, where polling places feel more like parties and less like an administrative burden. Attracting voters to interesting and engaging cultural events is a big part of how we mobilize more voters to turn out, demonstrate that voting is safe, and lay the foundation for the kind of civic power that will last long after Election Day.
MVF partner Poder Latinx Community Fund coordinates Vote Early Day — a specific day in October to drive mass early vote turnout by integrating cultural organizing and civic engagement. This year, Vote Early Day is on October 24, and organizers will mobilize seven pillars of civil society: schools, churches, labor unions, consulates, media partners, businesses, and community organizations to coordinate over 400 local events that will attract voters and provide educational and logistical resources for them to successfully cast their ballots early.
MVP partner When We All Vote, an initiative of Civic Nation, is, once again, leading Party at the Polls. Through Party at the Polls local groups receive funding to put on their own Party at the Polls events to mobilize voters to vote through music, fun, and joy. With a focus on early voting, When We All Vote’s goal is to support more than 5,000 Parties at the Polls to reach 20 million voters.
Graphic: Onyx Impact
Inoculate against election mis- and disinformation, especially among Black voters.
With the ramp-up of AI and our “chronically online” society, false narratives about voting and our elections are constantly swirling on social media, in group chats, on digital media platforms, and everywhere else people get information online. MVF and our partners must leverage existing digital media and online creators to elevate pro-democracy, pro-voter narratives to proactively “prebunk” false election narratives — i.e., prepare voters to recognize and resist mis- and disinformation before they encounter it — that could dissuade people from voting.
MVF partner Onyx Impact is fighting the spread of election mis- and disinformation and propaganda aimed at dissuading Black people from voting. Onyx Impact prebunks and debunks false election narratives aimed specifically at dissuading Black voters from turning out. This year-round digital organizing and narrative building is especially important in light of attacks on Black voters’ power, particularly after the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais further gutted the Voting Rights Act.
Photo: Common Defense Education Fund rallying with its members in Washington, DC.
Launch veterans’ rapid response to protect free and fair elections.
As soon as voters start casting ballots, MVF and our partners will do everything we can to ensure every vote is counted and the election results are certified. Our partners are preparing to help voters cast their ballots, observe vote-counting processes, stand up ballot-curing efforts, and launch rapid response mass mobilizations, should there be any interference with the voting process.
MVF partner Common Defense Education Fund (CDEF) is the largest grassroots organization of military veterans, with key organizing hubs in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and a national membership of over 572,000 veterans, service members, and military family members. To address unprecedented threats to our democracy, Common Defense has launched the nonpartisan Quick Reaction Force — a national network of trained veteran leaders prepared to protect democratic participation from the primaries through the seating of the new Congress in January.
The Quick Response Force builds on successful models that Common Defense deployed in 2020 and 2024 and is now expanding to create durable, scalable infrastructure capable of responding wherever challenges emerge. This infrastructure leverages the public’s trust in veterans to ensure that every voter can safely cast a ballot, every vote is counted, and every election is certified.
Invest Today to Safeguard Fair Elections
MVF and our partners are poised and ready to fight back against election interference. We’re coordinating with and supporting hundreds of organizations and leaders who are best positioned to deploy the most impactful election protection strategies and to mobilize quickly and effectively to counter potential sabotage efforts that may arise this year. Investing in MVF today bolsters their efforts to protect our democracy through November and for the long haul.
