I Am A Voter

I am a voter has received media coverage, in part due to Dayani’s significant public profile as well as her alliances with celebrities like founding group member and actress Debra Messing. ³ Despite framing itself as politically neutral, I am a voter regularly associates with left-of-center celebrities, and Dayana and Messing are well-known for their left-of-center views on matters like racial issues, LGBT issues, and gun control. ⁴

I am a voter is a fiscally sponsored project of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a California-based and Hollywood-focused nonprofit which has a variety of political and apolitical fiscally-sponsored projects and programs. ⁵

Background

In a Forbes profile, Mandana Dayana said that her impetus for founding I am a voter was her political engagement after the 2017 white-nationalist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which a counter-protesting woman was killed by a supporter of the marchers. ⁶ Dayani used connections from past work as a lawyer, celebrity talent agent, and Rachel Zoe Inc. vice president to gain access to members of Congress. She said it was then that she learned tens of millions of eligible voters do not participate in America’s voting process. ²

I am a voter was founded just before the 2018 midterm elections with influential celebrities and celebrity-connected individuals like Debra Messing and April Uchitel. ^{3 7} Dayani gathered significant celebrity resources to create initial momentum, and relied heavily on gun-control activist Shannon Watts for advice on giving I am a voter structure and direction. ⁸

Despite its public framing as politically neutral, I am a voter and its key spokespeople like Dayana and Messing have long associations with left-of-center organizations, individuals, and causes. Messing is a public advocate for LGBT interests and for restricting Second Amendment rights. ⁴ Dayani backed an unrelated campaign to increase women’s voting in the 2022 midterm elections. That campaign focused on extending abortion access and opposing voting restrictions. ⁹ Messing and Dayani founded their podcast, the Dissenters, with the late liberal icon and U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as their inspiration. ⁸

The Forbes profile indicated that the group registered many people to vote in the 2020 elections, but provided no concrete numbers about the group’s impact. ²

Fashion Focus

I am a voter uses fashion and merchandise to raise awareness about its voter registration cause. For example, at its kickoff event during New York Fashion Week in September 2018, Dayani and another co-founder asked influential friends to wear the pins. “It became this rogue thing,” Dayani told the Los Angeles Times, and helped raise I am a voter’s profile. ⁸

Likewise, in 2020, a voter registration event with Hollywood celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston drew significant attention: I am a voter told the Los Angeles Times that it received 2.5 billion social media impressions and 1.6 billion impressions through media coverage. ⁸

I am a voter’s website focuses heavily on clothing merchandise to promote its message. Shirts, hats, jewelry, and masks all have “vote,” “voter,” or “I am a voter” on them. ¹⁰ Its Instagram page, which has 126,000 followers, promotes both merchandize and information on voter IDs, voter registration, and more. ¹¹

Parent Organization

The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) is a major philanthropic organization backed by major players in film, music, and other areas of show business in the United States. Founded in 1942 by several leading figures in Hollywood, the foundation claims to have raised more than $1 billion since then and contributes to hundreds of other grantmaking organizations every year. ¹²

Members of the EIF board of directors include senior executives at several of America’s most influential media companies, including Jeff Bader of NBC Entertainment, Dan Harrison of Fox Entertainment, Jack Sussman of CBS Entertainment, and Andy Kubitz of Netflix. ¹³

Many of EIF’s projects are apolitical, such as its support for firefighters and its Stand up to Cancer initiative. However, it also endorses left-of-center social narratives related to race and other matters. ¹⁴  One of its most prominent advocacy efforts is a partnership with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. ¹⁵

Partners

I am a voter lists dozens of “partner” organizations on its website, ranging from corporations like AMC Theatres, Lyft, and Violet Grey to voter advocacy groups like Vote.org. ¹ Other organizations like the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and ESPN have also publicly announced partnerships with I am a voter. ^{16 17 18}

Leadership

The Los Angeles Times reports that over 30 women from the fashion and Hollywood worlds helped co-found I am a voter. ⁸ They include “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing, who is known for her LGBT and gun control activism and who now co-hosts a podcast with Dayani on which they interview left-of-center activists like Jane Fonda and politicians like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA); ⁴ April Uchitel, who at the time was CEO of beauty retail company Violet Grey; ⁷ and Hollywood and voter outreach nonprofit leader Natalie Tran, who leads the CAA Foundation and is involved in other left-of-center nonprofits like the Entertainment Industry Foundation. ¹⁹

Mandana Dayani is I am a voter’s primary spokesperson and is best known for putting the organization together. A childhood immigrant from Iran, she was an attorney and commercial talent agent before working for almost six years helping fashion designer Rachel Zoe build her business. She then became an executive producer and brand advocate for “Everything but the House,” which was eventually sold to HGTV. She has since pivoted to political activism founding I am a voter in 2018 and becoming chief operating officer for Archewell Foundation, a left-of-center advocacy nonprofit founded by British royalty couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in 2021. ^{20 21}

Dayani frames herself and I am a voter as politically neutral; however, her podcast was inspired by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a former U.S. Supreme Court justice. ⁴ Dayani’s Twitter account includes promoting legalized abortion and gun control, and opposition to the re-election of Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). ^{22 23 24}

Funding

Donations to I am a voter are routed through the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the group’s fiscal sponsor. The Democracy Fund gave a combined $200,000 to I am a voter through the Foundation. ²⁵