How Civic Alliance and Impactree are Helping Strengthen Democracy
The words of Justice Marshall illuminate a core beauty and hindrance of democracy; for it to function at its apex, everyone must contribute to its success. Over the last fifty years, public trust in government and its process has fallen significantly to record lows, displaying a prevailing public disenfranchisement from the democratic system. This creates a vicious cycle, where lack of engagement halts change, creating a greater sense of disillusionment.
To bipartisanly address the largest issues of the modern age, this cycle must be broken and Americans must play a larger role in advancing participation in our democracy as well as civic life. A powerful group fighting for this engagement is Civic Alliance, a collective of businesses working together to build a future where a vast majority of Americans participate in shaping our country.
The 2020 election saw dramatically increased voter turnout, up by 7% from 2016 to roughly 66% of eligible voters. Despite record turnouts, the United States still lags behind numerous other countries in voter participation. With many important local elections occurring in 2021, the question is will voters be as motivated as they were in the general election. From school board elections all the way up to state-wide gubernatorial races, it is not just the responsibility of Americans to have their voices heard in the democratic process, it’s also in their best interest that their own voices are heard in shaping their community and country.
Impactree is Motivating Democratic Participation by Joining Civic Alliance
According to a Cone Communications study, 63% of Americans are hopeful businesses will take the lead to drive social and environmental change moving forward. However, not all companies are motivating their employees to be a part of that change; this is what Civic Alliance and Impactree want to change. With more than 1,100 members and over 5 million employees reached, Civic Action is helping companies get their employees to the ballot box; not to vote a certain way, but to simply get their voices heard. With brands like Hilton, Airbnb, theSkimm, Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, The Discovery Channel, Atlassian, Twitter, and even Major League Baseball, Civic Alliance hosts major and small businesses alike, all working to bring voter participation up to 80% by 2028.
While the 2020 election is in the rear view mirror, new local and state elections are always coming up, and Civic Alliance and Impactree have already turned their sights to 2021. One major point of interest is the New York City Mayoral election. Though the main elections held in November usually have high turnouts, the extremely important primaries are not publicly engaged with nearly as much. May 28th is the cut off date for registering in the June 22nd primary, so there is not much time left to motivate employees in New York City, among numerous other important mayoral elections across the country.
With the private sector’s immense influence, resources, and connection to constituents, it is important they encourage their employees and customers to get to the ballot box. It is because of this that Impactree is thrilled to be joining Civic Alliance, helping other companies see the importance of getting their constituents politically engaged and motivated.