New Virginia Majority is a left-of-center mobilization group which works to expand voting in left-leaning demographics to support left-wing to radical-left economic and social policy in Virginia. The organization played a role in establishing and maintaining Virginia’s electoral college “flip” from Republicans to Democrats starting with the 2008 presidential election. The New Virginia Majority primarily targets low income, ethnic, and racial minority communities in the metropolitan regions of Northern Virginia, Greater Richmond, and Hampton Roads. It also advocates for stricter regulations on employment, increased education funding, increased government control of health care and health care spending, and expanded housing subsidies. [1]
On November 6, 2019, co-executive director Tram Ngyuen published an op-ed in the New York Times claiming credit for helping Virginia Democrats take control of the Virginia General Assembly and governorship simultaneously for the first time since 1993. Ngyuen cites the New Virginia Majority’s efforts to register over 300,000 voters and knock on 2.5 million doors over the last twelve years. [2]
The New Virginia Majority has ties to radical-revolutionary left organizations and people. New Virginia Majority is a member of State Power Caucus, a radical-left-influenced network of community organizing and advocacy groups. [3]
Radical Left Influence
New Virginia Majority is a member of the State Power Caucus, a collection of at least 20 similar organizations including California Calls, New Florida Majority, Washington Community Action Network, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth working on organizing and voter registration among left-leaning blocs in states throughout the US. [4]
Jon Liss, a career left-wing organizer and radical-left ideologist, co-founded the Caucus[5] and the New Virginia Majority, as well as serving as one of its first executive directors. Liss has aligned with Liberation Road, a radical leftist American organization founded on Maoist revolutionary principles. [6][7]
Steve McClure used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help the New Virginia Majority identify ethnic and low-income potential voters who would likely vote Democratic in the 2008 election, thereby flipping the state to the Democrats for the first presidential election since 1964. [8][9] Since 2012, McClure has also worked as a consultant for Wuda Geo,[10] a Chinese engineering company, and he lived in Wuhan, China in 2011. [11]
Methods
New Virginia Majority utilizes a “hub” strategy where the organization leads and coordinates smaller support organizations to promote voting in particular blocks across Virginia. The hubs include Tenants and Workers United, an organizing outfit founded by Jon Liss[12] in the mid-1980s[13] that targets Hispanics and other immigrants; Virginia Student Power Network, targeting public university students on six campuses; Virginia Black Organizing Collaborative, targeting black voters; and Asian Pacific Islander Civic Engagement Collaborative, targeting Asian voters. [14]
New Virginia Majority operates in conjunction with the New Virginia Majority Education Fund, a registered 501(c)(3). [15] Unlike the New Virginia Majority, the Education Fund is able to accept tax-deductible donations.
Voter Outreach
New Virginia Majority increases voter turnout for Democratic voting blocks by supporting legislation to expand enfranchisement, and through direct get-out-the-vote efforts.
Voter Registration
Since 2015, the New Virginia Majority has registered 200,000 voters in Virginia. [16]
Felon Voting Rights Outreach
In 2016, then-Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) attempted to restore voting rights to Virginia’s 200,000 convicted felons through an executive order, but was blocked in the courts. However, over the following two years, McAuliffe granted voting rights to 173,000 Virginians on an individual basis. His successor, Gov. Ralph Northam (D), continued the practice for 22,000 more felons.
New Virginia Majority reaches out to re-enfranchised felons to inform them of their restored voting rights. Since 2017, the organization has encouraged over 500 individuals to vote. [17]
2013 Election
From August-November 2013, the New Virginia Majority reached out to 31,000 voters in Norfolk City, Richmond, and Northern Virginia. On Election Day, the organization deployed 58 trained poll monitors and six attorneys to detect voter interference at six polling stations.
Redistricting
In 2015, New Virginia Majority challenged the electoral districting of Virginia on the grounds of racial imbalance. [18]
Funding
In July 2020, it was announced that the Sandler Foundation would be donating $200 million to “racial justice groups” in response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests, and New Virginia Majority was one of the eight grantees named. The funds will help recipients advocate for left-wing policies in battleground states and create long-term constituencies that support these issues. [19]