Washington– Washington (AFP) – Democratic National Committee The party will spend millions of dollars to consolidate control over voter registration efforts that have traditionally been entrusted to nonprofit advocacy groups and individual political campaigns, a shift that party leaders hope will increase their chances in this year’s midterm elections.
The initiative, announced Tuesday, will start in Arizona and Nevada with at least $2 million for training organizers. It’s the first step in what could become the Democratic National Committee’s largest campaign ever to register new voters, with a particular focus on young people, voters of color and people without a college education. All of these demographics have turned away from Democrats The last presidential raceWho returned Republican Donald Trump To the White House.
“It’s a crisis. For our party to actually win elections, we have to create more Democrats.” DNC Chairman Ken Martin He said in an interview with the Associated Press.
“We need all hands on deck, not just outside groups,” Martin added, as the party tries to regain control of Congress and break the deadlock. Consolidated Republican control in Washington.
Democrats have spent decades relying on advocacy organizations and civic groups to register voters, but the law generally requires such efforts to be nonpartisan. Party leaders want a more explicitly partisan approach like that used by Republicans, who have relied less on outside groups to register and mobilize their voter base.
Martin said the allied nonprofits are “really important partners” who have done “a great job of getting people to actually engage in their democracy.”
“But at this moment now, given the huge disadvantage we have and the advantage Republicans have, we have to do more,” he added.
The NDP initiative aims to reach young, non-college-educated voters by recruiting organizers from a wide range of backgrounds, such as gig economy workers and young parents, who are often overlooked in the party’s grassroots efforts. Democrats hope the perspectives and experiences will help organizers and party strategists learn how to communicate with them Americans in blue collar roles Those disaffected with politics, with whom the party fears it has lost touch in the recent election.
“I think it’s amazing that Democrats are actually investing in reaching out to Democratic voters who have fallen behind,” said Santiago Mayer, founder of Voters for Tomorrow, a progressive political youth group that partners with the Democratic National Committee. “We were killed by persuasion in 2024, and I think this is a really important step, to fix it and ensure that doesn’t happen again in 2026.”
The program will begin with dozens of videos from lawmakers, activists and party leaders across the country. Democrats hope to boost enthusiasm for the program through partisan state contests throughout the year.
If successful, the investments will provide a foundation that Democrats can rely on after the midterm elections in the fall.
“This is an important part of the infrastructure we’re building to not only win the moment in ’26 but win the future,” Martin said. “In order to put ourselves in a position to win in ’28, ’30 and ’32, we actually have to keep doing the work and do it consistently,” he added.