Democracy Centers - GOTV Work in Black Communities
We opened our first Democracy Center in Hawkinsville, Georgia in December 2020; the team knocked on 2,400 doors and had 2,100 conversations with voters before the runoff election on January 5th. Now they operate a food pantry and provide civic engagement and voter education to local community members. The model of trusted partners working year round supporting community needs, voter education and civic engagement is a successful one employed by the RNC for their “community centers”. We self-fund our non-partisan Democracy Centers. We need your help.
Working with local partners across the country, Center for Common Ground is running multiple campaigns through our Democracy Centers to defend voting rights on the local, state and national level by working with local community members to find solutions for their "pain" points.
Since 2021 more than 400 anti-voter bills have been introduced in 37 states creating unnecessary barriers for people to register to vote,
vote by mail or vote in person; the work of our Democracy Centers is now more important than ever.
Together with the help of our volunteers, we are educating and mobilizing Black and Brown voters in voter suppression states to take action and protect their right to vote. We work at the community level providing food, information about broadband, COVID treatment and
whatever community members tell us they need; and we talk about voting while we are working with them. Donate today to the Center for Common Ground as we fund our active CFCG Democracy Center campaigns.
Where We Work
We work in voter suppression states where the BIPOC population is more than 20% of the registered voter population.
In 2022 we are working in the following states with BIPOC voting age populations: Alabama (41%), Arizona (25%), Florida (55%), Georgia (39%), North Carolina (39%), South Carolina (43%), Texas (55%), Virginia (25%) and Louisiana (54%). Our Democracy Centers are running postcard campaigns, texting and making phone calls to members of their local community. They are also delivering baskets with COVID supplies and surveying community members about what is important to people in their communities. Most important, Democracy Centers host events and local canvasses for mutual aid and GOTV work. !
Please share our work!
About This Cause
The ability to vote is our power to change things!
Under-served communities require many different voter services: voter registration, Photo ID review, Restoration of Rights for Returning Citizens information, rides to pick up Photo ID and rides to the polls.
When we surveyed Black Georgia voters who did not vote in 2020, the number one reason given for NOT voting was "I didn't know where the voting was." We ensure that voters know where and how to vote by their chosen method by text, phone or postcard.
We have established Democracy Centers in partnership with local organizations in the following locations:
Alabama (Huntsville, Selma, Mobile)
South Carolina (Florence)
Virginia (Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke, Southside)
Georgia (Hawkinsville, Cobb County, Savannah),
North Carolina (Monroe and Greensboro)
Pending (subject to funding) Texas, Florida and Louisiana
Democracy Centers
If you prefer to donate by check:
Center for Common Ground
18459 Patriot Ln
Ruther Glen, VA 22546