Guarantee Our Votes Project

Background

Guarantee Our Votes Project was initially created as a project of the Center for Innovative Policy (CIP), a think tank focused on developing and disseminating left-of-center public policy at the state level. ¹ By 2022, CIP had listed Guarantee Our Votes Project as a related organization on its tax returns that year, while Guarantee Our Votes Project was listed as sharing the same address as CIP. ^{4 5} As of 2024, the project has gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit status while still sharing the same address as CIP according to the tax returns of both groups. ^{6 7}

Financials

Guarantee Our Votes Project became an approved nonprofit effective March 30, 2021, ⁵ and reported gross receipts under $50,000. ⁸ It is registered under the category of voter education and registration. ⁹

Guarantee Our Votes Project received $30,000 in funding from the Center for Innovative Policy (CIP), n 2022 according to the latter’s 2022 tax return. ¹⁰

According to its 2023 990 tax filings, that year the Project reported a revenue of $166,016, expenses of $130,967, and net assets of $35,182. ¹¹

According to its 2024 990 tax filings, that year the Project reported a revenue of $13,900,000, expenses of $13,919,873, and net assets of $15,309. ¹²

Leadership

According to Guarantee Our Votes Project’s 2024 990 tax filings, that year Meghan Meehan Draper was listed as the director/president, Stephen Hill as President/Treasurer, Jillian Edelman as Director, and Noam Lee as Director (starting in October 2024). ¹³

As of 2022, Open Corporates listed Noam Lee, Stephen Hill, and Wendi Wallace as officers of Guarantee Our Votes Project. ¹⁴ Lee and Hill were also listed as officers of CIP with Hill joining in 2015 and Lee joining in 2020. ^{15 16} Lee, Hill, and Wallace were all hired or promoted to senior staff positions at the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) in 2019. ¹⁷ DGA is an independent political fundraising group that supports Democratic governors and candidates through campaigning and providing resources and funds. ^{18 19}

Noam Lee was identified as the previous principal officer of Guarantee Our Votes Project on its Form 990-N (e-Postcard) tax return for 2021 and 2022. ⁸ Lee was executive director of Democratic Governors Association (DGA) from 2019 to January 2023. He has been a Democratic organizer since 2006, supporting campaigns for several Democratic candidates, including former Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), and working as a finance director for the Democratic Party of Virginia and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He joined DGA in 2013 .²⁰ He founded Washington D.C. political consultancy Birdseye Strategies in January 2023 and is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants. ^{21 22}

Wendi Wallace became an officer of Guarantee Our Votes Project as of 2021 when it was incorporated. ²³ She was named deputy executive director of DGA in February 2019 and continued in that role until March 2023. She is a partner at Technicolor Political, a media messaging organization that works with political campaigns. Some of its clients include the Alaska Democratic Party, Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Campus Vote Project, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ²⁴ Previously Wallace worked at Americans for Financial Reform, Democracy Alliance, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. ^{25 26}

Stephen Hill was listed as an officer of Guarantee Our Votes Project as of 2021 when it was incorporated. ²³ Hill was named chief operating officer of DGA in February 2019. He joined the organization in 2015. Previously Hill worked as a voter contact and a consultant with the goal of electing Democrats to office. ²⁷