The NAACP National Voter Fund (NAACP-NVF) was established in 2000 as the 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy arm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It promotes voter registration, participation and engagement among liberal African Americans. NAACP-NVF initially focused its efforts on expanding voter turnout among African American populations in low-income rural and urban regions of the United States for the 2004 general election. The organization targeted “voters from low performance precincts who were eligible, but unregistered young and first-time voters.”1
Political Activity
NAACP-NVF is a founding member of America Votes, a left-of-center 501(c)(4) coalition of organizations and liberal issue advocacy groups founded in 2004 to mobilize voters in key battleground states for the upcoming elections. 2 3
Persons associated with NAACP-NVF and the now-defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) engaged in voter registration fraud leading up to the 2004 election.4 It was reported that “Chad Staton, a worker associated with the NAACP National Voter Fund in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts for filing false voter registrations during the 2004 presidential election in exchange for crack cocaine.”5
Funding
Between 2002-2013, the NAACP-NVF received funding from a number of organized left-wing foundations, including the Tides Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers, Open Society Institute, Proteus Fund, and Rockefeller Family Fund. Between 2002-2008, the Tides Foundation gave $901,245 to the NAACP-NVF. In 2003, the Open Society Institute gave $120,000 to the NAACP-NVF. 6
People
Gregory Moore, former deputy political director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and former chief of staff and legislative director to Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan), has served as the executive director of NAACP-NVF since 2001.While at the DNC, Moore served as liaison to the training division and worked on the 1996 Clinton-Gore reelection campaign.7
Former U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland), former NAACP president and CEO (1996-2004), served as chair of NAACP National Voter Fund’s board of directors.7
The late Julian Bond, former NAACP chairman (1998-2010) and first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), served as the development committee chair of NAACP-NVF. 8 7
Heather Booth, former strategic advisor of Alliance for Citizenship, is the founding director of NAACP-NVF.
References
- NAACP National Voter Fund. Accessed July 11, 2018. http://naacpnationalvoterfund.org/about-nvf/.
- Roberts, Joel. “Democrats Show Rare Unity.” Polybius at The Click to Network. June 01, 2004. Accessed July 11, 2018. http://web.archive.org/web/20160614052123/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-show-rare-unity/.
- Derkacz, Evan. “America Votes, a Coalition of 32 Progressive Organizations, Fields a Coordinated Grass-roots Nationwide Canvassing Campaign.” Monterey County Weekly. May 17, 2013. Accessed July 11, 2018. http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/local_news/america-votes-a-coalition-of-progressive-organizations-fields-a-coordinated/article_90208104-3eb1-5919-b139-b38c45f4ff80.html.
- VOTE FRAUD, INTIMIDATION & SUPPRESSION IN THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Issue brief. American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund. 2005.
- “Voter Fraud.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2018. https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/heritage-explains/voter-fraud.
- “NAACP National Voter Fund.” Grant Analyzer. Accessed July 11, 2018. http://www.foundationsearch.com/FindFunders/GrantVisualizer.aspx?searchid=4012725.
- “NAACP National Voter Fund.” Polybius at The Click to Network. August 3, 2002. Accessed July 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20020803104149/http://www.naacpnvf.org/c_about_nvf_afe.php.
- “Julian Bond, Charismatic Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 75.” The New York Times. December 21, 2017. Accessed July 11, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/us/julian-bond-former-naacp-chairman-and-civil-rights-leader-dies-at-75.html.