Vote Morongo Basin is a voter registration organization that was founded by Jo Ann Bollen, a retired small business owner who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Yucca Valley Town Council in 2018. Vote Morongo Basin partners with several left-of-center voting registration organizations including Field Team 6 and Vote Early Day, an effort created by media company MTV during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About

Based in the Morongo Basin in California’s San Bernardino County, Vote Morongo Basin is an organization focused on voter engagement, turnout, and registration. ¹

The organization partners with Field Team 6, a left-of-center voter registration organization with more than 40 other partner organizations in California and a number of left-of-center national partners such as Blue Future and Vote Save America. ² Vote Morongo Basin also partners with Vote Early Day, an effort created by MTV during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a larger movement of businesses, entertainment companies, and nonprofits encouraging voters to cast their ballots early in elections. Vote Early Day is supported by New Venture Fund, a left-wing nonprofit organization that disburses hundreds of millions of dollars in grants each year. ³

Activities

Vote Morongo Basin participated in the Twentynine Palms community’s 2022 Juneteenth celebration hosted by Women of Color Global 29, a local activist group. Vote Morongo Basin registered voters at the event amongst over a dozen local vendors who sold a variety of goods at the event. ⁴

Vote Morongo Basin also endorses community members running in local elections. In the 2022 elections, the organization endorsed Alfred Twu for the Alameda-Contra Costa (AC) Transit At-Large seat ⁵ to potentially represent one of the largest public bus systems in California. ⁶  Twu is an architect and small business owner who serves on Berkeley’s Planning and Landmarks commissions and previously led the East Bay Young Democrats. ⁷

In 2021, Vote Morongo Basin hosted a voter registration event at Copper Mountain College, a community college in Joshua Tree, California. ⁸

Leadership

Jo Ann Bollen, a former small business owner, is the founder of Vote Morongo Basin. ⁹ Bollen ran to represent District 3 in the Yucca Valley Town Council election in 2018 and lost to Merl R. Abel after garnering about one-third of the votes. ¹⁰

1. “Vote Morongo Basin.” Facebook. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/VoteMorongoBasin/.
2. “Field Team 6 Mission.” FieldTeam6. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission.
3. “Our Community Partners.” Vote Early Day, July 27, 2022. https://voteearlyday.org/our-community-partners/.
4. Estrada, Jene. “Juneteenth Celebration Brings People Together.” Hi, June 22, 2022. https://hidesertstar.com/news/182860/juneteenth-celebration-brings-people-together/.
5. “Alfred TWU for AC Transit at-Large.” Alfred Twu for AC Transit At-Large. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.alfredtwu.org/.
6. “Facts & Figures.” Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.actransit.org/facts-and-figures.
7. “Alfred TWU for AC Transit at-Large.” Alfred Twu for AC Transit At-Large. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.alfredtwu.org/.
8. “Vote Morongo Basin Events – Copper Mountain College Voter Registration.” Facebook. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/events/411157250366438/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D%5D%7D.
9. Elections Office of the Registrar of Voters, San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters § (2018). https://www.sbcounty.gov/uploads/ROV/Elections/2018/1106/VIG-CMBEN.pdf?_=1538690182012.  Page 205
10. “Jo Ann Bollen.” Voter’s Edge California Voter Guide. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://laist.votersedge.org/ca/en/election/2018-11-06/san-bernardino-county/member,-town-council-town-of-yucca-valley-district-3/jo-ann-bollen.