Take Action for Democracy
Whether you are an individual or represent a group, there’s a lot you can do to strengthen democracy in our state.
If you believe in democracy — especially the right of citizens to play a central role in elections and policy debates — there are many things that you, your family and the groups you belong to can do.
This section tells you how you or your organization can register voters, help protect the vote during election season, volunteer with Democracy North Carolina, become a vocal constituent and be heard by your elected officials, or take action as an individual, family, faith community, school, nonprofit, company or political group. Just click on a link to learn more!
Don't Forget: We're Big Believers in Partnership
We encourage all citizens and groups of North Carolina to take action on the causes and issues they believe in. But we also believe in working smart, being efficient and not duplicating effort. That's why we leverage our resources and staff time by forging partnerships with organizations that serve as gateways to large groups of people who would benefit from hearing our core message and understanding how our issues impact their lives. If you belong to an organization and would like us to be a part of your next get-together, contact us and we would be glad to discuss how we can help you inspire your membership to take action.
Sign Our Petition to Cut the Strings!
The Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling allowing unlimited corporate spending on political activities had an immediate and dramatic effect on North Carolina's political landscape. Last year, a flood of outside money from corporations – much of it anonymous – bankrolled attack ads that swept special interest candidates into office where they will have the power to shape public policies. Sign our petition to North Carolina’s elected officials telling them to reverse the impact of the Citizens United decision and require corporate campaign donors to adhere to rapid, detailed disclosure requirements. We will never have a government of, by and for the people until we have a political system that eliminates the corporate advantage over citizens and lets our elected officials put the interests of their constituents first. Sign our petition now and tell your friends to sign it as well.
Help Us Spread the Word!
Educate Others on Their Voting Rights
One simple but important thing you can do as an individual or group is to educate the public about their voting and constituent rights as well as issues like Voter-Owned Elections that are critical to protecting democracy.
Please visit our Resource Library for a list of the materials we offer to help you in these efforts. And be sure to contact us if you have an upcoming meeting and would like to feature a speaker from Democracy North Carolina.
Faith in Democracy
Permissible Activities for Churches
Many faith-based organizations advocate civic engagement as part of their teachings. One such community, Antioch Baptist Church in Charlotte, partnered with Democracy NC to encourage Sunday Voting. After laying the groundwork with voter registration and education efforts, they provided a bus and limo to transport voters to the polls on a selected Early Voting Sunday and we provided a van. Click here for more on permissible activities for faith-based communities.
Philanthropy is Good for NC!
A 2009 report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) showed that state residents received $89 in benefits for every dollar that foundations and other funding sources gave to support advocacy, organizing and civic engagement efforts in North Carolina. NCRP also discovered non-monetary gains from these activities on a range of issues -- including poverty, worker rights, education, health care, housing, environment and civil rights – and found that advocacy, organizing and civic engagement helped build bridges across race, culture, class and other typical divisions among people. A representative sampling of 13 nonprofit organizations were studied as part of this report. The moral: Activism is good for you and good for our state!
