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

In June 2025, Fix Democracy First participated in organizing or supporting protests branded under the “#NoKings” banner, a national day of demonstrations positioned as a defense of democratic norms against Donald Trump. These events were part of a larger mobilization involving over 70 Democratic Party affiliates and allied organizations across at least 19 U.S. states and multiple international locations, according to publicly available event listings on Mobilize.us, a Democratic Party-aligned organizing platform. ^{4 5}

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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸

Fix Democracy First is one of the approximately 250 members of the Declaration for American Democracy, ⁹ a coalition of left-of-center activist groups that advocates for rolling back election integrity laws, restrictions on campaign speech, and automatic voter registration. ¹⁰

Fix Democracy First is a member of the Not Above the Law Coalition, which consists of various left-of-center groups such as the Sierra Club, Indivisible, and Demcast USA. The coalition, along with Hands Off! MoveOn Civic Action, Public Citizen, and Stand Up America organized a virtual meeting on April 1st, 2025 that detailed how activists could be involved to organize against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his involvement with the Second Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). ^{11 12}

On March 30, 2025, former Wall Street Journal journalist Asra Nomani posted a thread on her X (formerly Twitter) profile which listed members of the Not Above the Law Coalition (which included Fix Democracy First) among several nonprofit organizations and activist groups that were allegedly involved with planning and taking part in #TeslaTakedown, a series of nationwide protests against car company Tesla and Musk. ¹³

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, ¹⁴ the Washington-based state affiliate of the League of Women Voters, ¹⁵ an organization that advocates and lobbies on several left-of-center issues. ¹⁶ Democracy Lobby Week is an event where its participants learn about legislations, getting lobbying tips, and receive information from various speakers. ¹⁴

Financials

According to its 2023 990 form, Fix Democracy First reported a revenue of $34,418, expenses of $42,507, and total assets of $14,991. ¹⁷

People

Cindy Black is the executive director of Fix Democracy First, working in the role since 2016. Prior to this she worked 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. ¹⁸

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. “Partners.” No Kings. Accessed June 25, 2025. https://www.nokings.org/partners.
5. Nomani, Asra. “Asra Nomani: The Familiar Hidden Hand behind Today’s #nokings Protests.” Fox News, June 14, 2025.https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/asra-nomani-familiar-hidden-hand-behind-todays-nokings-protests.
6. “About.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/about.
7. “Women in Office Now.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/won.
8. “About Us.” Yo Vote!. Last modified February 16, 2022. https://www.yo-vote.org/about.
9. “Declaration for American Democracy.” Declaration for American Democracy. Last modified October 20, 2022. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
10. “About.” Declaration for American Democracy. Last modified September 20, 2021. https://dfadcoalition.org/about/.
11. “Not Above the Law Coalition Letter Advocating for the Protection of Juries.” https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/NATL-Letter-On-Protecting-Juries.pdf, October 2, 2023.
12. “Hands off! Mass Call for Mobilizing against Trump’s Power Grab · Hands Off.” Mobilize. Accessed April 18, 2025. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/769107/.
13. Nomani, Asra (@AsraNomani). “Hello @ElonMusk and Friends, You asked who is funding and organizing the #TeslaTakedown protests. I’ve got answers for you, after going onto the streets of northern Virginia for the local protests here, seeing familiar faces from the Virginia Democratic political machine and then following the money — and the data.” X, March 30, 2025. https://x.com/AsraNomani/status/1906281197430329459
14. “Democracy Lobby Week 2023.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events/democracy-lobby-week-2023.
15. “Mission & Vision.” League of Women Voters of Washington. Accessed February 5, 2023. https://lwvwa.org/Mission-&-Vision.
16. “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.
17. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Fix Democracy First. 2023. Parts I and II. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270056380/202443049349200149/full
18. “Our Team.” Fix Democracy First. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/our-team.