Reclaim Our Vote is a project of the left-of-center get-out-the-vote-focused Center for Common Ground. It is focused on driving up minority voting rates in states that the organization claims are responsible for voter suppression. It engages in the mass mailing of postcards, making phone calls, and sending text messages and claims to have reached millions of potential voters.

While the Center for Common Ground claims to be nonpartisan, ¹ Reclaim Our Vote is listed as a partner of Field Team 6, a partisan get-out-the-vote organization with the explicit message of electing Democrats. ^{2 3 4}

Founding and History

Reclaim Our Vote Was founded by the left-of-center get-out-the vote organization Center for Common Ground in 2016. It is focused on driving voter turnout, specifically voters it identifies as “BIPOC” (black, indigenous, people of color) in targeted states where it claims voter suppression is occurring.  In 2020 the organization was focused on Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. The group claims to have distributed over 6.4 million postcards related to voter registration, early voting, and other get-out-the-vote efforts. It also claims to have initiated over 1 million phone calls during the 2020 election. ⁵

Parent Organization

Reclaim Our Vote is a project run by the left-of-center Center for Common Ground. Its stated purpose is to empower minority voters and fight against voter suppression. In addition to the voter mobilization efforts of the Reclaim Our Vote project, it also engages in activist training and education programs. ^{6 7}

Association with Democratic-Aligned Groups

Center for Common Ground claims to be a nonpartisan organization that is only concerned with voter rights. ⁸ However, Reclaim Our Vote is listed as a partner of the left-of-center organization Field Team 6, which is focused on Democratic get-out-the-vote-efforts.  Field Team 6 explicitly states that its mission is to register Democrats to “save the world.”  Its website also states that Democrats “saved America’s life” in 2020 but that American democracy “hangs by a thread” and that electing Democrats in 2022 is the only way to save the country. Reclaim Our Vote is listed as a national partner. ⁹

Finances

As a project of the Center for Common Ground, Reclaim Our Vote does not file public tax returns itself. However, in 2020, Center for Common Ground was preliminarily reported by the IRS to have had over $7 million in revenue and over $6 million in expenses, ending the year with net assets of over $1 million. ¹⁰ This is in sharp contrast to filings available for the organization from 2019, where the organization reported only $256,578 in revenue, and expenses of $261,844. It ended the year with only $17,488 in net assets. ¹¹

Leadership

Andrea Miller is the founding board member and executive director of the Center for Common Ground, the organization that runs Reclaim our Vote. She has been very involved in Democratic politics, including being the party’s nominee for Congress in Virginia’s fourth district in 2008. In addition to her work with the Center for Common Ground, she is the executive director of People Demanding Action, a left-of-center political activist group. ¹²

1. “About Us.” Center for Common Ground: Voting Rights and Community Empowerment. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/about.
2. “Reclaim Our Vote.” Center For Common Ground. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/drafts/reclaim-our-vote.
3. “Reclaim Our Vote.” Reclaim Our Vote. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://reclaim-our-vote.webflow.io/#Postcards.
4. “Field Team 6.” FieldTeam6. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission.
5. “Reclaim Our Vote.” Reclaim Our Vote. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://reclaim-our-vote.webflow.io/#Postcards.
6. “About Us.” Center For Common Ground. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/about.
7. “Reclaim Our Vote.” Center For Common Ground. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/drafts/reclaim-our-vote.
8. “About Us.” Center for Common Ground: Voting Rights and Community Empowerment. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/about.
9. “Field Team 6.” FieldTeam6. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission.
10. “Center For Common Ground – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/824589218.
11. Center for Common Ground, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Part I.
12. “Our Team.” Center For Common Ground. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.centerforcommonground.org/our-team.