Former campaign staffers team up on $20M voter education initiative

Former staffers from the 2016 and 2020 presidential cycles are joining together to launch a voter turnout and education initiative ahead of November amid voter suppression concerns. 

The $20 million effort, dubbed iVoteFACTS, was launched by the iVote Civic Education Fund on Friday. The initiative’s leaders include former political director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) campaign Rebecca Pearcey, former campaign manager for Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) presidential run Addisu Demissie, and former deputy campaign manager for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign Hari Sevugan. 

Additionally, the initiative will be led by a number of 2016 campaign alumni, including former communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign Tim Miller and Hillary Clinton’s former chief administration officer, Charlie Baker. 

The initiative will inform voters about voting options amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced a number of states to rely on alternative voting practices such as vote-by-mail. 

It comes days after chaos ensued amid Georgia’s primaries on Tuesday as a result of problems with the state’s new voting system. Poll workers reported malfunctions of machines at a number of precincts, as well as missing machines in some cases. Poll workers were also scarce in some parts of the state amid coronavirus concerns. Meanwhile, a number of voters reported not receiving mail-in ballots in time, forcing them to show up in person. 

Tuesday’s debacle in Georgia has resulted in worries about what procedures and precautions will take place ahead of November’s general election. 

“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 Nov. 3 as possible,” said Ellen Kurz, iVote founder and CEO. “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.”