States United Action is the lobbying arm of the States United Democracy Center, a left-leaning election law organization that was founded in 2020 as the Voter Protection Program (not to be confused with the Voter Protection Project, another left-leaning election advocacy organization). The organization supports legislation to loosen voter eligibility requirements and opposes Republican-backed election administration-legislation.

States United Action and the States United Democracy Center were founded by Norm Eisen, a left-leaning lawyer who served as the “Ethics Czar” in the Obama White House. ^{1 2}

Background

Norm Eisen founded the Voter Protection Program after recruiting an ostensibly bipartisan board of prominent individuals and retired politicians. The organization was mentioned in a February 2021 Time article that described a joint campaign by corporate executives, labor union leaders, and Democratic Party operatives who anticipated that President Donald Trump would challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, pointing to his criticism of mail-in ballots and other changes to voting processes. The coalition challenged Trump’s push for recounts following alleged delays and discrepancies in the 2020 election results and urged left-leaning advocacy groups and organizers not to stage protests in the days following the election. The article identified Eisen as a recruiter for the Voter Protection Program, an organization created to shut down President Trump’s efforts to contest the election outcome. ³

Following the 2020 election, the organization was renamed the States United Democracy Center and created States United Action as its lobbying arm. ^{4 5}

Activities

States United Action conducts political polling, issue statements on legislation, and tracks elections, candidates, officeholders, and election audits. ⁶

States United Action released its final “Replacing the Refs” report in December 2022, which “tracks the trend of Election Denier candidates who ran in 2022 for key statewide offices that run, oversee, and protect our elections.” ⁷

In 2021, States United Action partnered with Fair Fight Action and United to Protect Democracy to create a “Digital Tool to Track Sham Election ‘Audits’ Across the Country.” ⁹

People

The States United Democracy Center and States United Action are led by Joanna Lydgate, who is the organization’s chief executive officer. Lydgate graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and served as the Deputy Attorney General of Massachusetts. ¹⁰

Other leaders of the organization include former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican who is a co-founder and board co-chair of the organization, and Norm Eisen, the executive chair of the organization and a former official in the Obama administration. ¹¹

Board members of the organization include former Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D), former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge (R), former Massachusetts Governor and Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Bill Weld (R), former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, Obama Administration Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as well as several former state Attorneys General, among others. ¹²

1. “About Us.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/
2. “Our Story.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/our-story/
3. Molly Ball. “The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election.” Time. February 4, 2021. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/
4. “About Us.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/
5. Molly Ball. “The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election.” Time. February 4, 2021. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/
6. “States United Action.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/media/?_search=%22states%20united%20action%22
7. “NEW REPORT AND POLLING: States United Action Releases Final Replacing the Refs Report, New Survey on Voters’ Rejection of Election Denier Candidates.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/final-rtr/
9. “States United Action, Fair Fight Action, and United to Protect Democracy Release Digital Tool To Track Sham Election ‘Audits’ Across the Country.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023.  https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/states-united-action-fair-fight-action-and-united-to-protect-democracy-release-digital-tool-to-track-sham-election-audits-across-the-country/[/note

   States United Action has also released multiple statements supporting Democratic-led congressional legislation to increase federal control of state elections called the “Freedom to Vote Act.” ⁸ “States United Action Statement in Response to Senate Failure to Advance the Freedom to Vote Act.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023.  https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/failure-to-pass-ftv/

10. ^[1] “Our Team.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/our-team/
11. “Our Team.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/our-team/
12. “Our Team.” States United Democracy Fund. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/about-us/our-team/