Voting Rights Lab is an electoral advocacy group formed in 2018 while claiming to be a “campaign hub” to “supercharge the fight against voter suppression,” and to “transform our voting systems.” ¹

The group is a former project of the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit organization managed by philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ² As of July 2023, Voting Rights Lab is no longer a project of the New Venture Fund but is instead a project of the SD Foundation, a charity organization founded in August 2022 by Voting Rights Lab co-founder and executive director Megan Lewis. According to IRS tax exemption forms, the SD Foundation was started through a $4.8 million donation from the New Venture Fund in 2022. ³

Advocacy

The premier outward-facing project of the Voting Rights Lab is their State Voting Rights Tracker which consists of detailed analyses of voting laws and voting accessibility in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and provides real time legislative tracking. ⁴

For the 2020 election, the Voting Rights Lab has focused their work on fighting opposing voter ID laws, removals of inactive registrants from voter rolls, and early voting cuts. ⁵

The Voting Rights Lab has conducted polling research for Vote At Home, a nonprofit organization that pushes for a national vote-from-home electoral system, on how voters felt about vote-by-mail electoral system when asked and what specific verbiage helped to increase support. ⁶

Advocacy

In 2020, the Voting Rights Lab advocated against TX SB9, a Texas state-level ballot measure that would increase penalties for voters which make false statements on voter register application as well as restricting the usage of mail-in ballots. ⁷

Controversy

2022 Discrimination Lawsuit

In October 2022, Sarah Walker, the former executive director of Secure Democracy, filed a lawsuit against Secure Democracy along with Secure Democracy USA, and the New Venture Fund (which the Voting Rights Lab was still a project of at the time) over claims of alleged discrimination, civil rights violations, and wrongful termination.^{8 9} Walker claimed that both Secure Democracy and the Voting Rights Lab “had discriminated against female employees of color by paying them less than their white counterparts, denying them equal opportunity for advancement, and denying them equal access to benefits.” According to the lawsuit, Secure Democracy and Voting Rights lab leadership “constantly reminded [Walker] of her racial identity,” while being obsessed with “race and racial dynamics.” ⁹

The lawsuit also alleged that Secure Democracy and the Voting Rights Lab had engaged in unethical advocacy practices that “jeopardiz[ed] their tax exempt status” and “intentional tax violations” by “unlawfully subsidizing”  Secure Democracy’s 501(c)(4) operations with funds from the 501(c)(3) Voting Rights Lab and the New Venture Fund. ⁹

According to two former staffers, the lawsuit by Walker indirectly led to New Venture Fund cutting ties with Voting Rights Lab, with one other source commenting, “It was because of the Sarah matter…It didn’t make any sense to keep them under their umbrella.” ³ As of July 2023, the group is a project of the SD Foundation, a charity group started by Voting Rights Lab co-founder and Executive Director Megan Lewis in August 2022. According to IRS tax exemption forms, the SD Foundation was started through a $4.8 million donation from the New Venture Fund in 2022. ³

Leadership

Megan Lewis is a co-founder and the executive director of the Voting Rights Lab. Lewis previously worked as the executive vice president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a lobbying group founded by former New York Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg that advocates for gun control measures. ¹⁰

Sam Tarazi is a co-founder and chief program officer of the Voting Rights Lab. Tarazi previously worked as chief engagement officer of Everytown for Gun Safety. ¹⁰

Brina Milikowsky is a co-founder of the Voting Rights Lab. Milikowsky is the board chair for pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America and is a board member of Jewish advocacy group Reboot. ¹¹ Milikowsky previously served as the chief strategy officer of Everytown for Gun Safety. ¹²

Additionally, Christian LoBue is the director of campaigns and partnerships of the Voting Rights Lab. LoBue previously worked as associate director of campaigns and constituencies for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. ¹⁰

1. Lab, Voting Rights. “Page Post.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/company/voting-rights-lab/
2. “DCRA Corporate Registry: New Venture Fund.” DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed July 15, 2021. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2689437.
3. Kerr, Andrew and Joseph Simonson. “Top Democratic Operatives Were Quietly Pulling the Strings at a Voting Rights Group. Lawyers Say They May Have Broken the Law.” Washington Free Beacon, July 10, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/top-democratic-operatives-were-quietly-pulling-the-strings-at-a-voting-rights-group-lawyers-say-they-may-have-broken-the-law/
4. “State Voting Rights Tracker.” Voting Rights Lab. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/login
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6. “Policy and Research Guide.” Vote At Home. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.voteathome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/VAH-Policy-and-Research-Guide.pdf
7. Garcia, Berenice. “Starr DA testifies on voter fraud in support of SB 9.” The Monitor. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.themonitor.com/2019/03/21/starr-da-testifies-voter-fraud-support-sb-9/
8. “Walker v. New Venture Fund Et Al.” Justia Dockets & Filings. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2022cv03312/248723.
9. Ludwig, Hayden. “Breaking: Arabella-Aligned Groups Sued for Racial Discrimination, Violating Civil Rights Laws.” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, November 3, 2022. https://capitalresearch.org/article/breaking-arabella-aligned-groups-sued-for-racial-discrimination-violating-civil-rights-laws/.
10. “About The Voting Rights Lab.” Voting Rights Lab. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.votingrightslab.org/
11. “Board.” Reboot. Accessed March 15, 2020. http://www.rebooters.net/board
12. Milikowsky, Brina. “Page Post.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 15, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brina-milikowsky-309b4748/