About Secure the Ballot
ABOUT US
Vision Statement
We envision a brave new South where every young person has the ability, knowledge, and motivation to vote.
We envision a brave new South where every young person has the ability, knowledge, and motivation to vote.
Mission Statement
Secure the Ballot is expanding the promise and availability of voting to young people in the Carolinas. By bringing young people into the voting process, we make our elections more representative, fair, and strong.
Our programs encompass the full spectrum of voter engagement: education; registration; mobilization; and protection. We provide tools and information for people to vote safely and securely; we educate voters on their rights and the importance of their vote; and we work with partners who are protecting those rights when they come under threat.
Launched in June 2020, Secure the Ballot is leading the voter registration movement in South Carolina and aims to be the primary voter engagement organization in both South Carolina and North Carolina.
As a secondary goal, Secure the Ballot aims to be the primary voter engagement organization for student-athletes on college and university campuses around the country.
Social Justice Commitment
Secure the Ballot is actively committed to supporting historically marginalized communities, especially Black and brown communities. We primarily focus our efforts on reaching and engaging those communities and the majority of our budget is focused on supporting those communities.
We believe that this begins with having Black and brown staff in key leadership roles. We aim to have at least 50% of our senior staff be people of color at all times, which we currently have. We also believe that our Boards must be representative of the communities we aim to serve, especially Black and brown communities. We define senior staff as paid employees with budget-making and resource allocation authority. Our staff is and should also be at least 50% Black and brown.
Nothing should be done for a community without including members of that community in leadership and active decision-making. This is a commitment from both a social justice standpoint as well as an organizing standpoint. Doing the right thing should also help Secure the Ballot grow.
In addition to race, we also aim to serve and include LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities, and other people from traditionally underserved communities.
We maintain a platinum transparency rating on GuideStar (their highest standard), making public records and documents to give donors, supporters, and the general public to scrutinize our efforts and ensure that we are held to the highest standards.
