iVote Civic Education Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2020
Contact: Sean Savett, Rachel Thomas

iVote Launches “iVoteFACTS,” a $20 Million Campaign to Educate Voters and Move Them To New Voting Options Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

2020, 2016 presidential campaign leaders join together for multi-state program to prevent confusion and misinformation that have undermined primaries in Georgia and across the country

Cambridge, MA - Today, iVote Civic Education Fund launched iVoteFACTS, a $20 million, multi-state campaign to educate voters and drive turnout this fall amidst the unprecedented changes to voting practices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. iVoteFACTS’ mission is to inform voters of the availability of new, safe options to cast their ballots and urge them to utilize them before Election Day to avoid widespread confusion that has hindered primaries in Georgia and across the country already this year. 

“Imagine what it would do to our democracy if the lines and delays we saw this week in Georgia happen on Election Day in November,” said Ellen Kurz, iVote founder and CEO. “To avoid a
repeat of the de-legitimizing mess we’ve seen in Georgia and in primaries across the country, we have to get as many Americans to cast their ballots before November 3rd as possible. Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on so much of our national life, but if we educate people about how to vote safely this year and take advantage of new options to cast their ballots early and by mail, we can prevent it from damaging our democracy.”

iVote Civic Education Fund is the non-profit arm of iVote, founded to increase access to voting, and
which led the historic 2018 campaign to pass automatic voter registration in Nevada. The iVoteFACTS campaign will be led by iVote’s CEO, Ellen Kurz, a voting rights advocate who has led numerous statewide and national voter registration and turnout campaigns.

Kurz has united leaders from multiple 2020 presidential campaigns to help her lead iVoteFACTS, including Rebecca Pearcey, former political director and senior advisor for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign, Addisu Demissie, former campaign manager for Cory Booker’s presidential campaign, and Hari Sevugan, deputy campaign manager for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign and former DNC spokesperson. They are joined on the iVoteFACTS campaign team by Tim Miller, former RNC spokesperson and communications director for Jeb Bush, Charlie Baker, former Chief Administrative Officer for Hillary for America, Betsy Hoover, co-founder of Higher Ground Labs, Mayra Macías, executive director of Latino Victory Project, and former Minnesota Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie.

Already, 30 states have made changes to their voting practices and laws as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, impacting nearly 90 million voters. In recent

primaries, these new practices have led to last minute changes to polling locations, widespread confusion, and poor social distancing practices. On Tuesday, voters in Georgia experienced immense challenges in casting
their ballot in the primary election, including shortages of poll workers leading to hours-long lines, malfunctioning voting machines, and a lack of provisional ballots available for voters to use.
iVoteFACTS will run a non-partisan, data-driven campaign to prevent these and similar issues this fall in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and North Carolina. The program will educate
voters about what their state’s voting options are - including vote-by-mail, absentee, and early in-person voting - and how to safely and effectively take advantage of those options before or on November 3rd. 

About iVote Civic Education Fund:

iVote Civic Education Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to securing and expanding voting rights for every American.