Getting Voters the Truth in Whirlwind of Lies

To reach young voters more effectively, a company called Social Currant matched voter advocacy organizations such as NextGen America and Community Change Action with social media creators. The creators' posts about voting and civic engagement reached roughly 13 million people on TikTok and Instagram.

Siempra NC canvasses places like grocery stores, community colleges, flea markets, and trailer parks to register Latino voters, who represent an increasing share of the state’s population but typically have low turnout at the polls. Since January, the organization has registered more than 1,000 people statewide.

Youth Action Fund trains students to host registration drives and other community campaigns at their schools, and even provides stipends and community service hours to those who volunteer. During registration drives held at four schools in August, nearly 250 students registered to vote.

Ahead of Chicago's runoff municipal election, organizations such as GoodKids MadCity and Chicago Votes targeted youth voters with nontraditional events such as fashion shows and art installations, hosted youth-led candidate forums, and helped young residents get set up with IDs and driver's licenses needed for registration. Turnout among voters age 18 to 24 increased by 32 percent between the February election and the April runoff.

Ahead of Georgia's runoff election, organizations such as Georgia Youth Justice Coalition and Voters of Tomorrow pushed their outreach with Gen Z voters into high gear through text messages, phone calls, in-person conversations, and campaigns to get early voting centers on college campuses. Their efforts helped members of Gen Z outperform voters ages 25 to 40 in early and absentee voting during the runoff election.

In Philadelphia, organizations such as Asian Americans United, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition, and Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance spearheaded voter registration and education efforts in Asian American communities, offering resources, outreach, and election day assistance in voters' native languages. The Asian Pacific Island Political Alliance reached more than 62,000 voters in 15 languages, and Asian American turnout likely helped sway Pennsylvania's tight Senate race, with roughly 74 percent of the demographic casting their ballots for Democrats.

The Sequim Good Governance League (SGGL) formed in response to right-wing agitators taking over positions of power and spreading misinformation. SGGL recruited progressive and moderately conservative candidates who successfully defeated incumbents with the help of dozens of volunteers they trained. Volunteers worked around the clock, sent out emails, put up signs around the town, and used their most effective tool: having one-on-one conversations with other residents. SGGL-backed candidates now hold the majority of government offices.

Step Up Nigeria’s "Catch Them Young Initiative" uses children’s storybooks and animated films to teach school children how to become anti-corruption ambassadors. The books, which have recently been adapted to animated films, address the dangers of corrupt practices like vote-buying and bribery. The organization not only distributes the books and films, but also trains teachers to give the lessons. Over 250 teachers have been trained and at least 20,000 children have received anti-corruption education materials.

Philly Youth Vote is a nonpartisan effort, organized by a local social studies teacher, to prepare 18-year-olds to vote. In addition to registering about 700 students in the summer of 2020, the group advocates changing social studies curriculum to include more lessons on civic participation. To connect students with on local issues that directly impact them, they brought 27 candidates to speak in 11 virtual classrooms. The students interviewed the candidates and other schools have used the recordings of the interviews as well. 74% of registered 18-year-olds in Philadelphia cast a ballot in 2020.

CekFakta is a collaborative network that fights misinformation with around 6,000 fact-checkers from major Indonesian media organizations, citizens, and academics. The group holds training sessions to help journalists identify doctored images and misinformation, with the idea that participants will pass the skills on to their colleagues. CekFakta impacted 2019 presidential debates with large-scale, real-time, collaborative fact-checking that enabled a quick release of fact-checked information. The collaborative process is key to helping people find high-quality information amid so much online content.