Vot-ER (also known as A Healthier Democracy) is a left-of-center voter registration and get-out-the vote organization that focuses its efforts on individuals in the healthcare system ¹ and seeks to identify low-income and minority voters. ²

Since its founding in 2019, Vot-ER has helped more than 70,000 individuals register to vote or prepare to vote at more than 700 hospitals. ^{3 4}

Vot-ER’s supporters include the left-of-center Boston Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. ⁵ In 2021, Vot-ER received $100,000 from the environmentalist Windward Fund. ⁶

History and Leadership

Vot-ER (also known as A Healthier Democracy) ⁷ was founded by Alister Martin as a pilot program at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2019. ⁸ In 2021, the group received tax-exempt status from the IRS. ⁹ Vot-ER founder Alister Martin has stated that voting is a health issue. ¹⁰

Aliya Bhatia is the executive director of Vot-ER. She is also an advisor for the Colorado Youth Congress, which features a quotation from radical-left activist Angela Davis on its website, ¹¹ and a board member for Common Good Atlanta. Previously she worked at Impactive Consultants, Boston Consulting Group, and Teach For America. ¹²

Activities and Funding

Vot-ER is a left-of-center voter registration and get-out-the vote organization that focuses its efforts on individuals in the healthcare system ¹³ and seeks to identify low-income and minority voters. ¹⁴ Health care professionals, organizers, clinical students, technologists, and others who participate in Vot-ER programs assist patients to register to vote with QR codes on their lanyards ^{15 16} and have asked patients if they vote in-person or by mail. ^{17 18}

Vote-ER is promoted on numerous university medical schools, ^{19 20} calls the American health-care system the “next voting frontier” ²¹ and has called voting “social work.” ²²  The organization supports the far-left concept of health equity and believes that what it identifies as racial and social inequities correlate with low voter turnout and poorer health outcomes. ²³

Since 2019, Vot-ER’s tools and resources have been introduced to more than 700 hospitals and helped more than 70,000 individuals either register to vote or prepare to vote. ^{24 25} Vot-ER has claimed that 54 percent of these voters are new or infrequent voters. ²⁶ The organization’s script for potential voters includes lines to instruct illegal immigrant patients to help friends and family members who are U.S. citizens get ready to vote. ²⁷

In 2022, Vot-ER worked with Nurses Who Vote and the Civic Health Alliance (CHA) on voter registration efforts. ²⁸ That same year, the American Medical Association hosted an event featuring speakers from Vot-ER to discuss its Civic Health Month in 2022. ²⁹

Vot-ER is a partner of left-of-center Democracy Works, ^{30 31} American Academy of Pediatrics, Oak Street Health, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine). ³² The organization also supports Voting is Social Work, the national social-workers voter-mobilization campaign. ³³

Funding

Vot-ER receives its funding from individual contributions and grants. ^{34 35}

Vot-ER’s supporters include the left-of-center Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Boston Foundation, Berbee Walsh Foundation, Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. ³⁶

In 2021, Vot-ER received $100,000 from the environmentalist Windward Fund. ³⁷

1. “A Healthier Democracy.” ProPublica. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/862040929.
2.  “Partner Spotlight: Vot-ER.” Democracy Works. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.democracy.works/case-studies/partner-spotlight-vot-er.
3. “Support Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/donate/.
4. “Doctors Help Patients Register to Vote | NBC News NOW.” NBC News YouTube. Uploaded October 8, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFdcnw3j2yY&t=10s.
5. “Supporters.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/supporters/.
6. “Windward Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. http://www.windwardfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Windward-Fund-2021-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf.
7.  “A Healthier Democracy Inc.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/862040929.
8. “About.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/about/.
9. “Letter of Determination.” Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service. December 1, 2021. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/dl/FinalLetter_86-2040929_VOTERINC_06092021_00.tif.
10. “Doctors Help Patients Register to Vote | NBC News NOW.” NBC News YouTube. Uploaded October 8, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFdcnw3j2yY&t=10s.
11. “Home.” Colorado Youth Congress. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://coyouthcongress.org/.
12. “Aliya Bhatia.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliyaabhatia/details/experience/.
13. ^[1] “A Healthier Democracy.” ProPublica. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/862040929.
14. “Partner Spotlight: Vot-ER.” Democracy Works. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.democracy.works/case-studies/partner-spotlight-vot-er.
15. “Doctors Help Patients Register to Vote | NBC News NOW.” NBC News YouTube. Uploaded October 8, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFdcnw3j2yY&t=10s.
16. “Voter Registration Badges.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/badge/.
17. “Doctors Help Patients Register to Vote | NBC News NOW.” NBC News YouTube. Uploaded October 8, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFdcnw3j2yY&t=10s.
18. “About Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/about/.
19. “Federal Health Policy Updates for the Week of September 26, 2023.” Duke Health Government Relations. September 26, 2022. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://govrelations.duke.edu/news/federal-health-policy-updates-week-september-26-2022.
20. “CISWH News: Partnership with Vot-ER Promotes Civic Health.” Boston University School of Social work. August 19, 2021. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://ciswh.org/ciswh-promotes-civic-health-vot-er/.
21. “Home.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://vot-er.org/.
22. “Vot-ER x Voting is Social Work.” Vot-ER YouTube. Uploaded September 28, 2021. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzREj7CxxaY.
23. “Building a Bottom-Up Path to Health Equity.” Vot-ER. March 9, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://vot-er.org/building-a-bottom-up-path-to-health-equity/.
24. “Support Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/donate/.
25. “Doctors Help Patients Register to Vote | NBC News NOW.” NBC News YouTube. Uploaded October 8, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFdcnw3j2yY&t=10s.
26. “Support Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/donate/.
27. “Voter Conversation Starters.” Vot-ER. September 2022. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://vot-er.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Vot-ER_Conversation-Starters.pdf.
28. Gilyard, Katherine. “Motivated by Dobbs and COVID-19, groups are pushing doctors and nurses to vote.” The 19^th. November 3, 2022. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://19thnews.org/2022/11/doctors-nurses-voter-turnout-groups/.
29. “Voter registration and health care with Vot-ER.” American Medical Association. August 29, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/voter-registration-and-health-care-vot-er.
30. “Partner Spotlight: Vot-ER.” Democracy Works. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://www.democracy.works/case-studies/partner-spotlight-vot-er.
31. “Help voters, no matter what!” TurboVote. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://partners.turbovote.org/.
32. “About Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/about/.
33. “Social Work.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://vot-er.org/social-work/.
34. “Support Vot-ER.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/donate/.
35. “Supporters.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/supporters/.
36. “Supporters.” Vot-ER. Accessed July 22, 2023. https://vot-er.org/supporters/.
37. “Windward Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. http://www.windwardfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Windward-Fund-2021-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf.