Civic Influencers

Background

Civic Influencers was founded as the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) during the 2008 election cycle as an ostensibly nonpartisan voter registration project focused on increasing voter turnout among college students. It pays students at campuses to run get-out-the-vote and voter registration campaigns and arranges for its student employees to earn college credit for their organizing efforts. The organization’s early campaigns were led at colleges in Virginia during the 2013 gubernatorial election including James Madison University, Norfolk State University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. The group has also organized student voter registration drives at Ohio State University, Bowling Green University, and Northwestern University. ²

The organization has partnered with organizations and voter registration companies including the Fair Elections Center (formerly the Fair Elections Legal Network), Rock the Vote, and TurboVote. ²

Activity

During the 2020 election, Civic Influencers began to incorporate left-of-center talking points around diversity, equity, and inclusion in its materials and reports. The group’s 2020 Annual Report stated that it recognized “the historical legacy of white supremacy,” that “systems of oppression stand in the way of CEEP staff,” and committed to “dismantle systems of privilege.” The group deployed volunteers and resources to swing states in the 2020 election and to Georgia during the 2021 Senate runoff elections where it partnered with the state’s Black Lives Matter organizers. ⁴

The Campus Election Engagement Project rebranded as Civic Influencers during the 2022 election cycle and was formally organized as a nonprofit organization under that name. The organization shifted from promoting general student voter registration efforts to promoting voter turnout in competitive races to help Democrats. The group has published a tool on its website mapping “tipping point campuses” that will “connect youth and BIYoC civic power to swing elections and save our democracy.” ^{5 6}

The organization continues to operate its annual student fellowship program for “Civic Influencers.” The fellowship program employs more than a hundred participants from colleges and universities across the United States. ⁷

Leadership

Civic Influencers is led by Maxim Thorne, a professor at Yale University teaching classes in law and management. He also administers Yale’s Philanthropy in Action seminar, which allows students to invest $100,000 in selected nonprofit organizations. Thorne previously founded a group called Weekend Renewing America’s Promise (WRAP) and held senior positions at the NAACP and the Human Rights Campaign. He facilitated fundraising efforts for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and sat on the campaign’s African American Leadership Council, LGBT Leadership Council, and Finance and Policy Committees. He also sits on the national board of GLAAD. ⁸