Popular Democracy details voter turnout organizing efforts
As the nation awaits final election outcomes, Popular Democracy has released details on the community organizing that engaged voters and prepared networks for the period ahead.
Popular Democracy in Action functions as the largest network of grassroots groups serving Black, brown and working-class communities through 49 affiliates across 33 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Organizers across this structure knocked on 2,087,864 doors, placed 1,188,219 phone calls and held 363,795 conversations with voters. The network also trained 4,170 people across 40 states via Election Protection sessions.
Central to the group’s method is the conviction that democracy advances door by door and neighbor by neighbor, carried out by residents unwilling to defer fixes for broken systems to others.
Trained volunteers and organizers now monitor for voter intimidation, voting obstacles, disinformation and attempts to disrupt ballot counting or lawful certification. They stand ready to mount rapid responses while insisting that election officials finish their work, every ballot is counted and voter intent is honored. The network remains connected, alert and prepared.
Executive director DaMareo Cooper assessed the effort by stating: “This election was defined in so many ways by people standing up to authoritarianism, a crackdown on their communities and the erosion of their rights. Black, brown and working-class voters across the country showed up to say: We deserve something better. We deserve a government and an economy built for us, where our dignity, our freedoms and our futures matter. We left it all on the field because we believe that future is possible. The doors we knocked on, the conversations we had and the people we trained are the foundation for what comes next. Tomorrow and the days after that, we will keep building. The 14th Amendment established birthright citizenship and promised equal protection and due process. Generations organized to make those guarantees real and expand the rights our communities could exercise. Now we must defend those gains and put that promise into action. That means having the power to shape our government and the resources to live with dignity. We’re going to continue working towards a democracy and an economy where everyone belongs and everyone can thrive. No exceptions.”
Voters acted on concerns over unaffordable healthcare, rising rents, pay lagging behind prices and the need for immigrant citizenship pathways. Every elected official, of either party, must respond to those priorities. Built relationships and leadership will sustain organizing, including the national call Building Beyond the Elections on Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. ET to review results and plan forward.
