Fix Democracy First is a left-of-center advocacy group that focuses on campaign finance, public funding of elections, limiting campaign speech, and increasing civic participation and voter turnout. ¹

Activity

Fix Democracy supported passage of the Seattle Clean Campaigns Act, helped gather 40,000 signatures in support of an advisory question that called for rolling back campaign speech rights called Initiative 735, and supported Initiative 122, which created the government-funded Seattle Democracy Voucher Program. ² Fix Democracy First was also involved with the passage of several election administration bills since 2018 such as the Washington (state) Voting Rights Act, Automatic Voter Registration, Voting Rights Restoration for Formerly Incarcerated Persons, and the Youth VOTE Act of 2020. ³

Programs and Partnerships

Fix Democracy First is affiliated with the Fix Democracy First Education Fund (FDFEF), a nonprofit group that focuses on voter education, outreach, voter registration, and expanding civic participation across Washington state and throughout the United States. ⁴ Through this fund, First Democracy First runs various projects such as Women in Office Now (WON), a statewide program that trains women to run for office in Washington state. ⁵ YO VOTE is another project of the FDFEF that focuses on increasing youth participation in politics through training, teaching, and mentoring youth to become civic participants and lifelong voters for left-of-center causes and politicians. ⁶

Fix Democracy First is one of the approximately 250 members of the Declaration for American Democracy, ⁷ a coalition of left-of-center activist groups that advocates for rolling back election integrity laws, restrictions on campaign speech, and automatic voter registration. ⁸

Events

Fix Democracy First runs various events such as the Democracy Happy Hour, a weekly event that gathers its members to socialize and learn more about the organization and its current and future activities. The organization also runs Democracy Lobby Week in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Washington, ⁹ the Washington-based state affiliate of the League of Women Voters, ¹⁰ an organization that advocates and lobbies on several left-of-center issues. ¹¹ Democracy Lobby Week is an event were its participants learn about current legislations, getting lobbying tips, and receive information from various speakers. ¹²

People

Cindy Black became executive director of Fix Democracy First in 2016, while also working as the campaign director for Washington Coalition to Amend the Constitution’s (WAmend) statewide ballot initiative 735 campaign, an advisory question calling to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. She is involved with several national and statewide coalitions that address issues such as voting access, money in elections, increasing civic participation, and alternative voting systems. ¹³

1. “Working for the Will of the People, Not the Power of Money.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/.
2. “Money in Politics.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/our-work/money-in-politics.
3. “Voting Access.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/our-work/voting-access.
4. “About.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/about.
5. “Women in Office Now.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/won.
6. “About Us.” Yo Vote!. Last modified February 16, 2022. https://www.yo-vote.org/about.
7. “Declaration for American Democracy.” Declaration for American Democracy. Last modified October 20, 2022. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
8. “About.” Declaration for American Democracy. Last modified September 20, 2021. https://dfadcoalition.org/about/.
9. “Democracy Lobby Week 2023.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events/democracy-lobby-week-2023.
10. “Mission & Vision.” League of Women Voters of Washington. Accessed February 5, 2023. https://lwvwa.org/Mission-&-Vision.
11. “Client Profile: League of Women Voters of the US.” OpenSecrets. Accessed February 5, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/bills?cycle=2010&id=D000052977.
12. “Democracy Lobby Week 2023.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events/democracy-lobby-week-2023.
13. “Our Team.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/our-team.