Every Voice Action is a Super Political Action Committee (PAC) affiliated with Every Voice, a left-of-center campaign finance advocacy group that was formed in 1997 by Nick Nyhart as “Public Campaign.” The group is one of two Super PACs affiliated with Every Voice, the other being Friends of Democracy.

Every Voice Action saw a significant level of activity during the 2014 election cycle, where it made over $2.2 million in independent expenditures benefitting Democratic candidates.

The PAC has not reported any significant level of activity since 2014, spending under $10,000 in the 2016 election cycle during which Every Voice endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. ^{1 2} The PAC’s lack of activity in recent years coincides with a significant reduction in revenue and activity within the entirety of the Every Voice network. ³

Background

Every Voice Action is a left-of-center Super PAC that is designated as an “independent expenditure only” committee by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), meaning that it does not contribute directly to campaigns but spends on advertisements benefitting one candidate or attacking another. All spending from the PAC has historically either benefitted Democrats or attacked Republicans, with the vast majority of expenses consisting of those targeting Republicans. ⁴

The PAC is one of two Super PACs operated by Every Voice, a campaign finance advocacy and lobbying group that also operates an educational arm called Every Voice Center. Every Voice was founded in 1997 by activist Nick Nyhart as “Public Campaign,” which in 2012 rebranded as “Every Voice.” The groups are connected to Jonathan Soros, son of Democratic megadonor George Soros, who launched the connected Friends of Democracy PAC in 2012 which like Every Vote Action is described as an “anti-super PAC super PAC.” Every Voice Action and Soros’s Friends of Democracy have both been operated by Every Voice and the PACs regularly shifted money between the groups. ⁵

Jonathan Soros’s Friends of Democracy PAC transferred $1.2 million to Every Voice Action during the 2014 election cycle, which was the most recent election cycle during which the PACs had significant spending and fundraising activity. ⁶

Positions and Activities

Every Voice claims that its work focuses on removing the emphasis of money in politics, supporting small-donor elections programs, and changing the “courts or the constitution” to support taxpayer-funded elections. The group consistently attacks the existence of Super PACs throughout its website and published materials. ⁷

The PAC’s decline in activity in recent years coincides with a significant reduction in revenue and activity throughout the entirety of the Every Voice network, with revenue from the affiliated Every Voice advocacy group declining from $6.2 million in 2016 to just $163,000 in 2020. ⁸

Funding

In 2014, Every Voice donated $377,074 to Every Voice Action, while Friends of Democracy donated $1,220,000. That year, Every Voice Action spent $1,860,721 against Republican candidates and $71,256 to help Democrats. ⁹

1. “Every Voice.” Ballotpedia. Accessed December 27, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Every_Voice
2. “Every Voice Action Outside Spending Summary 2014.” Accessed December 27, 2022.  https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2014?cmte=C00566208&tab=summary
3. “Every Voice.” ProPublica. Accessed December 27, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522032544
4. “Every Voice.” ProPublica. Accessed December 27, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522032544
5. Eggen, Dan. “Son of liberal financier George Soros launches anti-super PAC super PAC.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/son-of-liberal-financier-george-soros-launches-anti-super-pac-super-pac/2012/07/12/gJQABQlufW_story.html?utm_term=.5e455a704b57
6. “Friends of Democracy PAC Expenditures 2014.” Accessed December 27, 2022.   https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00520080/expenditures/2014
7. “Solutions. Every Voice. Accessed via Wayback Machine December 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20160320195137/https://everyvoice.org/solutions
8. “Every Voice.” ProPublica. Accessed December 27, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522032544
9. “Every Voice Action Outside Spending Summary 2014.” Accessed December 27, 2022.  https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2014?cmte=C00566208&tab=summary