DNC Announces New IWillVote Campaign to Reach 50 Million Voters in 2018, Including Young Voters
March 1, 2018
Today, the Democratic National Committee is announcing the launch of IWillVote – an unprecedented new campaign with four initiatives: Commit to Vote; Voter Registration; Voter Education and Protection; and Get-Out-The-Vote. Under the IWillVote program, the DNC, in partnership with state parties and organizations, aims to reach 50 million voters from now until November to engage, educate, and mobilize them to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. Millennial and college-aged voters are a crucial part of this effort. In recent days, we have seen the enormous power this generation can wield, and we are excited to translate this power into electoral victories across the country.
The following are some of our initial partners who will support our IWillVote efforts: ASPIRE PAC, Blue Future, BOLD PAC, CBC PAC, Collective PAC, College Democrats of America, Flippable, Future Forum, High School Democrats of America, Latino Victory Fund, Mobilize America, National Conference of Democratic Mayors and Democratic mayors from more than 30 cities, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, PODER PAC, Swing Left, Young Democrats of America.
Over the past year, we’ve seen what a difference Democratic voter turnout can make. In Virginia, we elected a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, and flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates from red to blue. In Alabama, we elected the state’s first Democratic senator in decades. And since Donald Trump was elected, Democrats have flipped 39 state legislative seats, including some in districts that Trump won by double digits. When we organize early and everywhere, we win up and down the ballot.
However, we know that turnout during the midterms is historically low – just look at 2014, when voter turnout was the lowest since World War II. In addition, we have seen that the Republican strategy is to disenfranchise voters, particularly minority and youth voters, and to suppress the vote. While Trump and his Republicans roll back the landmark Voting Rights Act or enact voter ID laws, Democrats are fighting for voters and their right to cast a ballot, because Democrats believe every voice deserves to be heard and counted.
“The American people have witnessed the relentless commitment of the Republican Party to discourage voting – from the creation of a sham fraud commission to systemic disenfranchisement of communities of color. The DNC has opposed those efforts at every step, and we are prepared to hit them where it hurts – the voting booth,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez. “Our first Commit to Vote program translates activism and marches into committing to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot this November and is designed to reach voters and communities across the country with new innovative tools and technologies, key partnerships, and online and on-the-ground organizing strategies. In partnership with our state parties and partners, the DNC will reach 50 million voters this year.”
“Youth are leading the way in movements all across the country to bring about change,” said College Democrats of America President Joseline Mata. “I am excited that CDA is partnering with the DNC on their IWillVote program to push youth to use their power at the ballot box. Together we will be #OnEveryCampus and help elect democrats up and down the ballot.”
“The new DNC knows that if we’re going to actually turn this moment into a movement, we need the support, energy, and organizing power of young Democrats, and we need to translate this generation’s activism into action,” said DNC Youth Council Chair Akilah Ensley. “That’s why we’re investing in them like never before. IWillVote is a testament to the commitment Tom Perez and the new DNC has made to galvanize millennial voters in 2018.”