California Voter Foundation

Needs

1. Advance informed, confident voting by disseminating reliable, accurate information to voters and reducing voter confusion through standardization of election practices and effective communication from trusted messengers.

American democracy relies primarily on campaigns to inform voters about their ballot choices. Campaigns select which voters to contact based on past voting history, preferring to direct their resources to likely voters while new, infrequent and potential voters are ignored. This sets up a vicious cycle the perpetuates a voting public over-represented by white, older, well-educated homeowners and underrepresented by Californians who are younger, housing-insecure and people of color.

By engaging in direct voter outreach and education through the calvoter.org web site and media interviews, promoting increased funding and more effective voter education and outreach by election departments that voters view as trusted messengers, and engaging in policy work to standardize election practices across counties, CVF aims to create an equal opportunity for all Californians to be informed, engaged voters and shape a voting public that looks like all, not just some of California’s population.

2. Support and protect election officials and election administration through increased funding, legal and law enforcement protections, addressing mis- and disinformation and community-building.

CVF’s work to support election security includes protecting the personnel who conduct elections. In the wake of the 2020 Presidential election and the January 6th Insurrection, elections officials and their staff have increasingly come under attack, resulting in an alarming number of key personnel leaving the field altogether and a new generation of election administrators in need of training and professional development.

In response to this crisis, CVF established the Election Community Network in June 2021 to strengthen connections among leaders across the United States working in the government, nonprofit, academic and philanthropic sectors to support and protect election officials and election administration. Through monthly meetings, a network email list, and direct connections, ECN’s 200+ participants share research, achievements, challenges and ideas, with a focus on funding, legal protections, improved communications and media support for election officials.

CVF also promotes Election Hero Day, and participates in the nationwide Election Verification Network which CVF helped create, develop and facilitate. CVF works both statewide and nationwide to advancing funding to support election administration and also promotes collaboration between nonprofits and local election officials through its involvement in Future of California Elections, a statewide network of voter advocacy groups and local election officials.

3. Promote continuous election security and auditing improvements as well as increasing public awareness of how elections are securely conducted and results verified.

With the increased role of technology in the voting process, there is an ongoing need for security improvements as well as voter education about how elections are securely conducted. Election security is about both actual security and the public’s perception that elections are secure. It is not sufficient to simply say “Trust us.” False claims of election fraud and actual election security problems combined with the complexity and variation of voting systems and state laws make it difficult for many Americans to trust the voting process and easy for bad actors to exploit this confusion.

We must be proactive and give longtime and prospective voters alike valid reasons to trust that their ballots will be accurately counted if they are expected to have an incentive to vote, invest the time and effort required to make informed choices and care about the outcomes of elections.

CVF works to support these needs through legislative advocacy, media outreach, direct engagement in the voting technology certification process, education via the calvoter.org web site, media outreach, and by encouraging more citizen oversight of local election practices through voter advisory and oversight committees. With growing threats from artificial intelligence creating confusion and misleading voters it is more important than ever that election officials have the tools they need to keep elections secure.

CVF advocates for increased federal and state funding for election administration because local election officials are the most logical and reliable source for election security messaging. They must be provided the resources needed to keep our voting systems secure and inform voters how they are kept secure.