Voter Rights Action is a nominal voter advocacy group created by the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit arm of the left-of-center “dark money” advocacy network associated with the for-profit consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ¹

Laura Packard

Laura Packard is the founder and only person identifiably associated with Voter Rights Action. Packard has been working for left-progressive nonprofits since 2007. ² She was an internet director at Coalition for Progress, interim executive director for the New Organizing Institute, communications director for the Arkansas chapter of the AFL-CIO, the new media director for Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter (D)’s unsuccessful senatorial campaign in 2010, and director of State Project. ³

Since 2011, Packard has been a partner at PowerThru Consulting, a for-profit political consulting firm for left-of-center nonprofits, politicians, and political advocacy\. ⁴

In 2016, Packard delivered nearly half a million signatures on a petition to investigate supposed voter suppression in Arizona and Alabama to the US Department of Justice on behalf of MoveOn.org and CREDO Mobile Voters Rights Action.

Apparent Inactivity

Voter Rights Action has little online presence, most of which is out-of-date or non-operational. Voter Rights Action has no tax returns and does not appear to be a registered nonprofit.

Voter Rights Action’s webpage⁵ and Twitter are apparently defunct as of February 2020. ⁶

Voter Rights Action’s Facebook page is at least four years old, but contains no information about the organization. There are no listed leaders or staff, no location, and the only link is to its defunct webpage. ⁷

The Voter Rights Action’s YouTube page has no videos and only two subscribers. ⁸

Voter Rights Action has pages on the websites of Act Local⁹ and Action Network, two left-of-center nonprofit networks. Both pages contain little information about Voter Rights Action, and provide links to the organization’s Facebook, Twitter, webpage, and the group’s default contact email. ¹⁰

Support

Despite having no apparent active activities as of February 2020, Voter Rights Action has lent its name to numerous left-of-center causes and joined many nonprofit networks:

• Voting Rights Advancement Act¹¹
• New Mexico HB 57 – Restore Felon Voter Rights¹²
• League of Women Voters Petition to Presidential Candidates to Prioritize Democracy Reform Agenda¹³
• The Native American Voting Act of 2019¹⁴
• Act Local¹⁵
• Action Network¹⁶
• Let NY Vote¹⁷

1. Schoffstall, Joe. “Report: Liberal Dark Money Umbrella Facilitated $1.6 Billion in Recent Years.” Washington Free Beacon. Washington Free Beacon, April 18, 2019. https://freebeacon.com/politics/report-liberal-dark-money-umbrella-facilitated-1-6-billion-in-recent-years/.
2. “Laura Packard.” Linkedin. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lpackard/.
3. “Laura Packard.” CampaignTech Innovation Summit. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://campaigntechsummit.com/team-member/laura-packard/.
4. “Services.” PowerThru Consulting. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://powerthruconsulting.com/services/.
5. “Voter Rights Action.” Voters Rights Action. Accessed February 8, 2020. http://voterrightsaction.org/?fbclid=IwAR3okgHHm8Lzyc8sJ5viAgjp8PQARNjDLb93VMzzR-xLJrUHPG0zkTuhKKs.
6. “Voter Rights Action.” Twitter. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://twitter.com/statuses/998953381254258688.
7. “Voter Rights Action.” Facebook. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/VoterRightsAction/photos/a.142302209144871/965159160192501/?type=3&theater.
8. “Voter Rights Action.” Youtube. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/user/secstateproject
9. “Voter Rights Action.” Act Local. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.actlocal.network/organizations/voter-rights-action.
10. “Voter Rights Action.” Action Network. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/groups/voter-rights.
11. “Sign to Support Restoring the Voting Rights Act.” Activating Asian Americans. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://action.18mr.org/restorethevote/.
12. “Why NM Legislators Should Vote For HB 57.” Retake Our Democracy. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://retakeourdemocracyorg.nationbuilder.com/hb_57_restore_felon_voter_rights.
13. “League Joins Groups Urging Presidential Candidates to Prioritize Democracy Reform Agenda.” LWV. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/league-of-women-voters/.
14. “Civil Rights Groups Applaud Introduction of the Native American Voting Rights Act of 2019.” Tom Udall. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NAVRA%20Support%20Letter%20March%202019_Final.pdf.
15. “Voter Rights Action.” Act Local. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.actlocal.network/organizations/voter-rights-action.
16. “Voter Rights Action.” Action Network. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/groups/voter-rights.
17. “About.” Let NY Vote. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://letnyvote.org/about.