NEWS & COMMENTARY
iVote's investments in protecting voting rights and working against election deniers has earned national coverage
Election deniers rejected in swing states
By Josh Kraushaar
One of the biggest winners of election night was iVote, a liberal group that invested $15 million in secretary of state races that typically fly under the radar. The group spent millions on ads in four swing-state secretary of state races in which Republicans nominated candidates who didn't accept the validity of the 2020 election outcome.
iVote to spend $5 million in Arizona Secretary of State race
By Alexandra Marquez
iVote, a group that works to elect Democratic Secretaries of State, will spend $5 million on an ad campaign in Arizona to boost Democratic Secretary of State candidate Adrian Fontes and attack his Republican opponent, Mark Finchem. In 2018, the group spent $3 million in the state's Secretary of State race to help elect Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is now running for governor.
The Midterm Races That Give Democrats Nightmares
By Blake Hounshell
Ellen Kurz, the founder and president of iVote, has been focused on secretary of state races for nearly a decade, she said in an interview. In 2018, the group spent $7 million helping elect Democrats in Arizona and Michigan who later became important players in the 2020 election. This year, iVote has a budget of more than twice that amount — $15 million, which it plans to spend on broadcast, cable and digital advertising to bolster its candidates.
Conspiracy Theorists Want to Run America’s Elections. These Are the Candidates Standing in Their Way
By Charlotte Alter
A single conspiracy theorist overseeing elections in a swing state could plunge the next presidential race into chaos or even change the result. “If even one of these people win, and they say, ‘We don’t like these results,’ then we’re in a constitutional crisis,” says Ellen Kurz, founder of iVote, which works to elect Democratic secretaries of state. “They will stop at nothing,” Kurz adds. “So we have to stop them.”
Is the Future of Arizona the Future of America Without Democracy?
By Ellen Kurz
In 2020, Democratic secretaries of state stood as a firewall against the Big Lie, earning them threats of violence from armed protestors and the former president. Now, in 2022, these election administration officials are on the ballot again, and whether they defeat their "Stop the Steal" opponents may determine whether the 2024 presidential election is free and fair or a constitutional crisis in the making. Nowhere is that truer than in the battleground state of Arizona.
Want Better Elections? Choose Better Elections Officials
By Ellen Kurz
The big news from Georgia’s primary election last Tuesday wasn’t who won and who lost. It was the galling meltdown at polling places in black communities across the state. New voting machines were missing or didn’t work. Voters waited hours in line to cast their ballots. Some understandably gave up.
Secretaries of State: Our democracy's new first responders
By Ellen Kurz
In recent weeks, our nation and our democracy were attacked by our own government. Donald Trump’s “voter integrity” commission demanded each state hand over the names, addresses, and social security numbers of millions of Americans citizens. Led by state secretaries of State, more than 40 states said “no” in whole or part to Trump’s effort.
Behind Katie Hobbs' win: How Democrats flipped Arizona's 2nd-highest office
By Dustin Gardiner
Most of the money that the Arizona Democratic Party spent on Hobbs' behalf, about $3.2 million, came from iVote Fund. ... 'In the general election, Democrats outspent our campaign two-to-one on television,' said Brian Seitchik, Gaynor's campaign consultant. 'In a Democrat-friendly year, [Hobbs's] spending advantage was the difference.
'Democracy will be on the ballot': Secretary of state races emerge as newest US political flashpoint
By Fredreka Schouten
One Democratic group focused on these races, iVote, has raised $3 million and hopes to collect a total of $15 million to shape contests in several key battleground states, said Ellen Kurz, the group's president. Its top targets: Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and Minnesota, all of which backed President Joe Biden in 2020.
Democratic Secretary of State candidates outperformed their gubernatorial counterparts
By Alexandra Marquez
"Ellen Kurz, the president of iVote, a group working to elect Democratic secretaries of state, on Wednesday told NBC News that [the vote gap] shows that voters care about threats to democracy and are willing to turn out to prevent election questioners and doubters from running elections in battleground states."
Democratic group to spend millions on Secretary of State races this fall
By Alexandra Marquez
"A voting rights group focused on electing Democrats to Secretary of State offices across the country plans to launch an eight-figure media campaign supporting Democratic candidates in five states.
"iVote, a group founded in 2014, says it is raising the alarm about Republican candidates with extreme views running for Secretary of State this year in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Minnesota."
Democrats implore party to prioritize secretary of state races to help avert 2024 debacle
By Dan Merica
'“There are these small races, down-ballot races that are going relatively unnoticed that will determine if we have a free and fair election,” said Hari Sevugan, a senior adviser to iVote. “Because pro-democracy candidates won these seats in 2018, our democracy survived in 2020. Who wins these seats in 2022 will not only determine what the election looks like in 2024, but what our democracy looks like the day after.”'
Indy Explains: Question 5, an effort to automatically register people to vote at the DMV
By Jacob Solis
"Nevadans for Modern and Secure Elections PAC, affiliated with the Washington, D.C.-based voter advocacy organization iVote. The latter organization was started by Jeremy Bird, who led President Barack Obama’s voter turnout campaign. It is financially supported by the Nevada Election Administration Committee."
The exciting war to make secretaries of state more boring
By Jaime Fuller
"iVote is planning to do polling, digital ads, digital outreach, on-the-ground campaigning, and data analytics. The group's board thinks that progressives have been playing defense for far too long on voting rights, according to Bird, "rolling the dice" in the court system instead of playing offense and making elections run smoothly in the first place. The way they see it, spending money in a secretary of state race -- which usually cost around $500,000 -- is a far more cost-effective way of expanding access to the vote."
Colorado has been called the safest place to vote under Republican Wayne Williams’ watch. But Democrat Jena Griswold says things could be better.
By Sandra Fish
"Griswold is airing TV ads for the contest and is backed by a national nonprofit that advocates for voting rights. The iVote Fund is putting $250,000 into the contest with TV ads airing around the state."
Election officials defended the 2020 vote. In 2022, they’ll have to defend themselves.
By Albert R. Hunt
'“Typical secretary of state races, even in a swing state, they’ll have trouble raising $500,000,” said Ellen Kurz, the president of iVote. “For a statewide race, most of them can’t afford polling … they don’t have the resources to even do message research or to get on TV.”'