Democratic National Committee
February 28, 2018

DNC Announces New IWillVote Campaign to Reach 50 Million Voters in 2018

Today, the Democratic National Committee is announcing the launch of IWillVote - an unprecedented new campaign with four initiatives: Commit to Vote; Voter Registration; Voter Education and Protection; and Get-Out-The-Vote. Under the IWillVote program, the DNC, in partnership with state parties and organizations, aims to reach 50 million voters from now until November to engage, educate, and mobilize them to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. The following are some of our initial partners who will support our IWillVote efforts: Blue Future, BOLD PAC, CBC PAC, Collective PAC, College Democrats of America, Flippable, Future Forum, High School Democrats of America, Latino Victory Fund, Mobilize America, National Conference of Democratic Mayors and Democratic mayors from more than 30 cities, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, PODER PAC, Swing Left, Young Democrats of America.
 


 

Over the past year, we’ve seen what a difference Democratic voter turnout can make. In Virginia, we elected a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, and flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates from red to blue. In Alabama, we elected the state’s first Democratic senator in decades. And since Donald Trump was elected, Democrats have flipped 39 state legislative seats, including some in districts that Trump won by double digits. When we organize early and everywhere, we win up and down the ballot.

 

However, we know that turnout during the midterms is historically low - just look at 2014, when voter turnout was the lowest since World War II. In addition, we have seen that the Republican strategy is to disenfranchise voters, particularly minority and youth voters, and to suppress the vote. While Trump and his Republicans roll back the landmark Voting Rights Act or enact voter ID laws, Democrats are fighting for voters and their right to cast a ballot, because Democrats believe every voice deserves to be heard and counted.

 

“The American people have witnessed the relentless commitment of the Republican Party to discourage voting – from the creation of a sham fraud commission to systemic disenfranchisement of communities of color. The DNC has opposed those efforts at every step, and we are prepared to hit them where it hurts – the voting booth,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez. “Our first Commit to Vote program translates activism and marches into committing to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot this November and is designed to reach voters and communities across the country with new innovative tools and technologies, key partnerships, and online and on-the-ground organizing strategies. In partnership with our state parties and partners, the DNC will reach 50 million voters this year.”

 

“We are pleased that the DNC’s new IWillVote campaign is promoting vote commitments ahead of the midterms, a critical element to ensuring higher voter turnout this November and supporting our efforts to take back the House in 2018,” said Swing Left Campaigns Director Adrienne Lever. “At Swing Left, this past summer we launched our own commit to vote program, and have had thousands of our volunteers out in the field organizing to collect vote commitments in our 70 Swing Districts across the country. Looking ahead, we are happy the DNC’s new national campaign also advances the importance of these efforts, and we look forward to supporting their ambitious goal to reach 50 million Americans by November.”

 

“The Democratic Party of Georgia is proud to support the DNC’s efforts to build real capacity and mobilize volunteers across the country,” said Rebecca DeHart Georgia Democratic Party Executive Director. “Georgia runs a robust Commit to Vote program which has helped us flip three legislative seats and helped elect Keisha Lance Bottoms as Atlanta’s mayor. The IWillVote program is one of the best ways to harness the activism and momentum we have seen across the country and turn it into power at the polls.”

 

“The CBC PAC is excited to partner with the Democratic party in engaging and educating Black voters around turnout,” said CBC PAC Chairman Gregory W. Meeks. “Elections are too important for us to be absent from the process and we are proud to stand with the party as they work to amplify the message of inclusion and prosperity for all."

 

“As the only PAC focused on increasing the number of Latinas in Congress, PODER PAC is thrilled to partner with the DNC on voter engagement,” said PODER PAC Co-founder and Chairwoman Ingrid Duran. “The IWillVote program is an innovative way to harness the unprecedented energy and passion of Latinas and other diverse communities across the country. We are confident in its ability to turn this energy into action at the polls.”