Partner Spotlight: State Voices Florida promotes voter engagement
SVF is part of the State Voices network, which brings together a state’s advocates, activists and organizers to form nonpartisan coalitions known as “state tables.” The SVF table is a network of over 50 partner organizations based in South Florida, the Interstate 4 corridor and North Florida that are dedicated to voter engagement and empowerment. SVF provides support in numerous ways, including overseeing the programs and providing access to technology and data tools.
“We organize the organizers,” said Taylor Crowe, program manager for SVF.
The SPLC Action Fund has partnered with State Voices Florida on several voting rights and redistricting campaigns in Florida. It remains an active member of the network, which has a year-round civic engagement program that includes bold voter registration goals in election years as well as issue-based campaigns every year.
SVF offers a grant program for local voter registration organizations. In 2020, the table supported 14 partners in 32 counties doing voter registration focusing on Black and Brown communities. When COVID-19 hit, these organizations pivoted to online work using three online voter registration tools, registering a total of 161,983 voters in 2020 – an impressive feat amid a pandemic.
SVF recently began a regranting program to help organizations get their people back in the field to register voters. This year, it has already granted its partners more than a half million dollars for voter registration and local redistricting programs. The network also supports a rights restoration ballot initiative and continues to support the implementation of online voter registration.
SVF also awarded grants to nine organizations for a paid poll monitor program, training 339 people to be on the ground on Election Day in 12 counties.
With the release of census data, SVF is supporting partners in the local redistricting process, which includes the redrawing of district lines for county commissioners. The organization has conducted research and created resources for most Florida counties. SVF also keeps track of where local governments are in the redistricting process throughout Florida.
For more information about SVF and how you or your organization can get involved, please visit its webpage.
Donn Scott Jr. is a policy associate for the SPLC Action Fund.
Photo at top: Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at John F. Kennedy Library in Miami on Nov. 3, 2020. (Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images)
