Spread the Vote, Inc.
Founded in 2017, Spread the Vote (STV) is committed to providing eligible adults with government-issued voter IDs and support with the voting process.
Program Area: Preserving American Democracy / Citizen Engagement
Location: National
Grant Amount(s): $100,000
$15,000
Grant Type(s): General Operating
Wellness & Professional Development
Grant Year Awarded: 2023
Founded in 2017, Spread the Vote (STV) is committed to providing eligible adults with government-issued voter IDs and support with the voting process. Spread the Vote works nationally and has built outchapters and volunteers and created significant impact in FL, GA, IN, LA, MI, NC, PA, TN, TX, VA, WV, and WI.
Around 11% of the population (21 million Americans) lack a driver’s license or state identification card and therefore are unable to vote and obtain certain jobs, housing, or medical aid.
77% of STVs clients have never voted before because of complicated voting laws or because they simply did not know where to start. In their focus states, STV works to obtain IDs for students (especially in the states where student IDs are not eligible for the polls), seniors, low-income adults, and returning citizens. STV partners with state and local organizations to reach as many citizens as possible. In 2018, STV launched several campus chapters with a focus on registering and obtaining IDs for college students.
Over the past four years, STV has obtained and issued over 7,000 IDs to their clients.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the need for IDs became even more critical throughout the country. STV implemented a program to help clients obtain IDs virtually through the provision of educational video courses and resources as a joint effort from STV and many national organizations including Ballot Ready and the Center for American Progress. STV also worked with vote.org to help incarcerated citizens register for and cast absentee ballots. STV also spent this last year working on the ground to help recruit poll workers and rapid response advocacy and messaging.
Five Together has stood behind STV since its inception, supporting the organization in its growing operational and programming capacities. Kat Calvin, the organization’s prolific founder and current executive director, has worked for the past four years to build STV from its one-state model (in 2017, Georgia had a critical need for voter ID access) to its current 12-state-and-growing model, now one of the most important national organizations for voter ID procurement, education, and resources.
