Democracy for All

At a time of public health, economic, social and environmental crises, PennFuture’s Democracy for All program left nothing to chance. 

We engaged a rising American electorate — people of color, young people and unmarried women — who are disproportionately underrepresented in the democratic process, disproportionately impacted by pollution impacts, and representative of 64 percent of the people who can vote in America.

The pandemic forced us to deploy unique and new perspectives. We overcame misinformation campaigns, learned new ways to vote by mail, fought disenfranchisement, and civically engaged more than 1.1 million people.

Dedicated to issues of environmental justice, our advocacy campaigns ensure climate justice and racial justice will no longer be ignored by our elected officials.

For future elections, PennFuture will bridge the gap between black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC communities) and with Pennsylvania’s white community members, building a dedicated following of voters who will help shape local, state, and federal legislation.

This transformational community engagement will be critically important for protecting our environment, establishing a clean energy future, uplifting disadvantaged members of society, and fulfilling dreams of our collective potential.

Each election section, PennFuture’s Democracy For All campaign is committed to:

• Building a more just and equitable democracy, responsive to the people and their will to protect the planet. 
• Improving access to and trust in our democracy, assisting communities traditionally left out of the decision-making process reclaim their rightful influence. 
• Advocating for structural democracy reform.
• Registering and turning people out to vote through transformational community organizing. 

In 2020, political leaders from across the country sowed — unsubstantiated — doubt about the accuracy and reliability of Pennsylvania’s voting system. PennFuture responded by echoing voter demands for unimpeded access to hassle-free ballot boxes. 

The Republican National Committee, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and several members of Congress sued Pennsylvania’s secretary of the commonwealth and all 67 county boards of elections. They sought to bar the state from counting votes from eligible voters who cast mail ballots through official drop boxes.

Believing no Pennsylvanian should be forced to choose between exposing themselves to COVID-19 and exercising their right to vote, PennFuture and other allies intervened to defend Act 77, the crucial 2019 law that establishes our state’s vote-by-mail system. 

We won. The court rejected the bogus voter fraud claims, vindicating millions of voters across the state.