ATNJ Education Fund is the premier organization in New Jersey leading the expansion of Vote By Mail and voter education.

ATNJ Education Fund’s main purpose is to provide education and awareness of the twice yearly statewide elections in New Jersey, an existing gap in public outreach to communities that both the county election boards and the state Division of Elections do not provide. We focus on the communities and groups of people living in geographic areas designated as “Hard to Count" (HTC) by the Census Bureau:  **African-American/Black, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino**. We also focus on **high school students** ages 17-18 who are automatically registered to vote upon earning their driver’s permit with the Motor Vehicle Commission. Where there are gaps in voter outreach by government agencies, we are intentional in finding solutions to fill those gaps and amplify where necessary.



ATNJ Education Fund

Ranked Choice Voting gives a strong voice to all voters in our elections so candidates with the broadest support get to govern.

Rank the Vote (RTV) is a 501(c)3 organization with a vision that the national adoption of ranked choice voting and other structural election reforms will create a political and social culture with elections based on a competition of the best ideas rather than scorched-earth politics, and a government that is truly accountable to “we the people”. Ranked choice voting forces politicians to campaign on the issues, rather than pandering to a voter bloc on soundbites. The mission of Rank the Vote is simple: help everyday people build robust movements to expand democracy with prove and powerful election upgrades in their own states.

Rank The Vote

Ranked Choice Voting Maryland is a non-partisan coalition seeking to build a more effective, representative democracy.

**Why is Ranked Choice Voting Great for Maryland?**

In ranked choice voting elections, the candidate who reflects the views of the widest number of voters wins. Even in crowded fields, similar candidates can compete without splitting votes. Whether Republican, Democrat, independent or third-party, voters never have to worry about the “spoiler effect.”

We rank things all the time and express our preferences when we are shopping, going out to eat, etc. **Elections do not reflect how we make choices everyday.** 

**Maryland is Ready!**

Maryland is poised to expand better elections at the local, county, and state level. Our voting system is ready for ranked choice voting. Marylanders across the state are eager for more choice and a stronger voice in electing leaders.

**RCV is a WIN-WIN for voters and candidates!**

- **Eliminate Spoiler Effect** - Candidates do not need to worry that their campaign will help another candidate win by splitting the vote or being asked to “wait their turn."
- **Fully Express Your Vote** - When you have multiple candidates that you support, you can better express your intentions and preferences.
- **End Non-Majority Winners** - Ranked choice voting respects the will of the people and helps to elect the candidate preferred by a winning margin of voters.
- **More Civil Campaigning** - Candidates run competitive, yet civil campaigns to appeal to a broader base of voters.

Ranked Choice Voting Maryland

Empowering Israeli-Americans through civic engagement and advocacy education.

The Israeli-American Civic Education Institute (ICEI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Israeli-Americans and pro-Israel Americans to become informed and effective civic leaders. Through education, training, and resources, we prepare individuals to engage in meaningful advocacy, combat antisemitism, and strengthen the U.S.–Israel relationship.

**Our Mission**

We educate and empower individuals to understand the legislative process, promote civic engagement, and advocate for shared democratic values between Israel and the United States.

**How We Achieve Our Mission**

- **Educational Programs**: We offer courses to provide participants with in-depth knowledge of the legislative process and civic leadership.
- **Advocacy Training**: Our workshops teach the skills necessary to advance policy priorities, build coalitions, and effectively advocate for pro-Israel policies.
- **Community Building**: ICEI creates a network of like-minded individuals committed to protecting Jewish safety, combating antisemitism, and ensuring Israel’s security.

**Your Impact**

Your donation helps ICEI:

- Expand our educational programs to reach more participants across the country.
- Develop innovative resources to counter antisemitism and misinformation.
- Equip leaders with the tools to advocate for policies that strengthen the U.S.–Israel relationship.

Together, we can build a stronger, more informed pro-Israel community, ready to take on the challenges of today and tomorrow. **Join us in making a difference.**

Israeli-American Civic Education Institute

Realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all - the ACLU dares to create a more perfect union.

The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union — beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.

ACLU Foundation

Indiana-based movement whose mission is to elevate citizens’ voices and foster inclusive, equitable political participation

Count US IN is an Indiana-based movement whose mission is to elevate citizens’ voices and foster inclusive, equitable political participation by encouraging diverse voter turnout, educating citizens on voting rights and protections, combating voter suppression, and cultivating partnerships to create political equity. We Empower and offer tools to increase voter turnout and political participation, especially of minorities and marginalized communities.

Count US IN

RepresentUs is restoring the promise of America: a government of, by, and for the people.

RepresentUs is America’s leading nonpartisan anti-corruption organization fighting to fix our broken and ineffective government. We unite people across the political spectrum to pass laws that hold corrupt politicians accountable, defeat special interests, and force the government to meet the needs of the people. We have won 197 victories in cities and states across America since our founding 10 years ago. We’re building the movement for an effective and healthy government, and we’re just getting started.

Represent Us Education Fund

Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) 

CANVAS (Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies) was founded in 2005 by Slobodan Djinovic and Srdja Popovic to advocate for the use of nonviolent resistance in the promotion of human rights and democracy. Since then, they have worked with pro-democracy activists from more than 50 countries. From CANVAS' headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia, they operate a network of international trainers and consultants with expertise in building and running successful non-violent movements. Their work is focused to build more just, democratic, and responsible society. CANVAS’ offices in Washington DC, Tbilisi, Manila Johannesburg and Belgrade aim to provide maximum support to the activists on the ground, and they serve as a hub for local and regional initiatives that rely on principals of nonviolent struggle and creative activism. Their organization disseminates knowledge through a variety of media, including workshops, books, videos, and specialized courses and all for free. CANVAS has produced several publications on nonviolent resistance over the years, based on intensive research and our members’ decades of experience in the field. These revolutionary “know-hows” are available for free download on their website.

CANVAS Citizens Association 

America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a nonprofit, grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization. CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with affiliate offices nationwide. Its national headquarters is located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Since its establishment in 1994, CAIR has worked to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America. Through media relations, lobbying, education and advocacy, CAIR works to make sure a Muslim voice is represented. Through our work, CAIR seeks to empower American Muslims and encourage their participation in political and social activism.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 

America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 70 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with voting methods that strengthen democracy.

Founded in 2011, The Center for Election Science is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to helping the world use better election systems. We study and advance alternative voting methods, with an emphasis on a method called approval voting. We’re passionate about voting methods because the collective decisions we make through voting dramatically impact our day-to-day lives. Smarter collective decisions, whether in government or in private organizations, promise to provide us all with a better quality of life.

The Center for Election Science

VoteAmerica technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy.

VoteAmerica

Dedicated to government reform and ethics in order to strengthen democracy and building a democracy that works for everyone.

**Issue One is a leading crosspartisan political reform group in Washington, D.C.**

We unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system and build an inclusive democracy that works for everyone.

Our mission is more critical than ever: Our democratic republic is under greater stress than it has been in generations, as the fates of democracies all over the world face uncertain futures.

We educate the public and work to pass legislation on Capitol Hill to bolster U.S. elections, build a healthier digital information environment for our democracy, improve the ability of Congress to solve problems, strengthen ethics and accountability, and limit the influence of big money over politics.

Issue One

Nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy.

It's time to level the playing field so all voters have a voice in American democracy. 

We believe our government should be of, by, and for the people. The way we vote limits our choices for leaders and fails to hold them accountable to the communities they represent. We need a way to elect candidates who represent the will of the people. The best ideas should decide who wins, not the biggest bank accounts or outdated electoral rules.

FairVote researches and advocates for solutions that give voters more voice and greater choice in their elections.

FairVote

Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics.

Our Vision and Mission: Inform, Empower & Advocate

Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Our mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy. Our vision is for Americans to use this knowledge to create a more vibrant, representative and accountable democracy.

We pursue our mission largely through our award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, which is the most comprehensive resource for campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. And for other organizations and news media, OpenSecrets' exclusive data powers their online features tracking money in politics - counting cash to make change. Our OpenSecrets News features news breaking original reporting about money-in-politics, including the sort of investigative work that won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2013 award for Public Service in Online Journalism.

As a 501(c)3 tax-exempt, charitable organization, OpenSecrets relies on financial support from a combination of institutional grants, individual contributions and income earned from custom research and licensing data for commercial use. You can support the work of OpenSecrets directly by making a tax-deductible contribution through OpenSecrets.org.

OpenSecrets

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit advocacy organization and legal service provider. 

S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, working to abolish local governments’ systems of mass surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, indigenous peoples, pregnant people, and communities of color, particularly the unique trauma of anti-Black policing.

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project

Uses technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy.

The largest nonprofit, non-partisan voting registration and get out the vote (GOTV) technology platform in America. It has registered more than 3.3 million new voters, verified 8.2 million voters’ registration status, and has helped over 30 million website users by providing registration links and deadlines, polling location details, and other essential voting information for each state. Vote.org also leverages its SMS-based GOTV program each year, targeting low-propensity voters in regularly scheduled and special elections.

To turn out the vote among young people and people of color, Vote.org partners with corporations and other organizations in the civic space, including Gannett Media Group's USA Today, Vote Save America, and The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Vote.org has also launched exciting new partnerships in 2020 with The Webby Awards, NAACP Youth Coalition, GLSEN, wikiHow, and Young Entertainment Activists. Many of their corporate partners have signed on to Vote.org's Election Day campaign, launched in 2018, which commits them to giving their employees paid time off to vote on Election Day. To date, 500 companies have signed the pledge.

Vote.org was originally founded as Long Distance Voter (LDV), which served as a comprehensive online resource for absentee ballot information. LDV had 500,000 viewers within six months of its 2008 launch, and in 2014, it was the official source of data for Google's "How to Vote" project, which received over 30 million views.

In 2016, LDV rebranded itself as Vote.org, with funding and support from the Y Combinator. That fall, Vote.org ran its first-in-nation SMS peer-to-peer voter registration drive, and on Election Day 2016, Vote.org ran the single largest non-partisan SMS GOTV drive in America, providing polling location information to over 1 million low-propensity voters.

With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, Vote.org recently added a page to its website, offering regularly updated, state-by-state information for voters whose primaries have been postponed or otherwise delayed. As the pandemic creates new barriers to safe and fair elections, Vote.org is working to keep voters engaged in the democratic process and prevent misinformation from dissuading them from participating in the 2020 election.

Vote.org's mission is to use technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy. With its new leadership team, led by CEO Andrea Hailey, Vote.org is on track to serve 12 times the number of people it served in 2018. The organization plans to turn out more than 5 million low-propensity voters in this fall's presidential election.

Vote.org

We are a nonpartisan law and policy institute working to reform and defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.


The Brennan Center for Justice is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and when necessary, defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.   

Today, we are in a great fight for the future of constitutional democracy in the United States. We are committed to the rule of law. We work to craft and advance a transformative reform agenda — solutions that aim to make American democracy work for all.

The Brennan Center has built a distinct model to advance legal and policy change:

We’re a think tank, conducting rigorous research to identify problems and craft transformative solutions.
We’re an advocacy group, fighting in court and working with elected officials to advance legislation.
We’re a cutting-edge communications hub, shaping opinion by taking our message directly to the press and public.
At a time of massive demographic change and economic dislocation, public institutions urgently need reform and repair. Today, politics is polarized and often paralyzed. We see harsh assaults on communities of color and immigrants. The vital safeguards and checks and balances that underpin democracy are under attack.

We know this: The best response to an attack on democracy is to strengthen democracy.

That’s why we’ve pioneered innovative reforms:

Automatic voter registration has been enacted in 16 states.
We’ve championed small donor public financing, which would give ordinary Americans a much louder voice in political campaigns.
We’ve crafted ballot initiatives that ended partisan gerrymandering across the country.
We’ve helped transform the debate over mass incarceration through groundbreaking research that revealed that nearly 40 percent of the U.S. prison population is locked up unnecessarily. 
In all this, we take our cue from Abraham Lincoln’s admonition at another time of constitutional debate:

“Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed.”

Truly effective legal and policy change requires winning, first and foremost, in the court of public opinion.
 

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law

VoteRiders strives to ensure every eligible voter has the ID they need to cast a ballot that counts.

VoteRiders is the country’s leading organization focused on voter ID.

Our nonpartisan mission is to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot that counts due to voter ID laws, either directly from lack of acceptable ID or indirectly because of voter confusion. With over 12 years of on-the-ground experience helping voters with their ID and empowering them to vote with confidence, our work has never been more crucial.

Our nationwide digital and on-the-ground programs focus on voter ID education and voter ID assistance. Our 2024 priority states include: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Our 2,200+ historical partner organizations incorporate our free ID-focused tools and services into their work. In 2024 alone, we sent more than 1.5 million FREE state-specific Voter ID Information Cards to partners for distribution nationwide.

Our volunteer programs provide an additional level of educational outreach via letter-writing, textbanking, and phone-banking to at-risk voters. Volunteers also support our bilingual Voter ID Helpline and Chatbot, while others provide virtual assistance to voters who need ID help. This work is powered by an ever-growing community of 10,000+ individuals including pro bono lawyers.

To learn more and get involved, visit [our website](http://voteriders.org/), [sign up to volunteer](http://voteriders.org/volunteer), or [make a donation](https://www.voteriders.org/donate/) to support our work.



VoteRiders

Devoted to encouraging political journalists to live up to the highest standards of their profession.

At this point, no one can possibly argue that political journalism has fulfilled its essential missions of creating an informed electorate and holding the powerful accountable.

But our top newsroom leaders have seen no need for a course change. In particular, they have failed to respond to the growing asymmetry between the political parties, even as one became overtly counter-majoritarian, anti-democratic, and unmoored to reality.

Press Watch agitates for change. It encourages reporters to fight disinformation more enthusiastically and effectively, especially when our democracy and people’s lives are at stake. It identifies best practices that others can emulate. It urges the reality-based parts of the industry to  explicitly condemn Fox News and other far-right propaganda outlets as disinformation operations.

Press Watch

Americans deserve an honest and accountable government that works for its citizens, not the powerful.

Common Cause is an advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.

Now with over 1.5 million members and supporters and 36 state organizations, Common Cause remains committed to honest, open and accountable government, as well as encouraging citizen participation in democracy.

Common Cause Education Fund

VotingWorks is a non-partisan, non-profit dedicated to building secure and affordable election technology to increase voter trust in elections.

Our mission is to make election technology everyone can trust through transparency, simplicity, and demonstrable security.

In all of our work, we collaborate closely with election administrators.

We believe that trust is earned only by being publicly accountable for everything we do. That's why we're the only non-profit voting system vendor in the United States, why all of our source code is publicly available, and why we actively work in the open with leading academics in the fields of voting security and usability.

We believe that democracy is too important for secretive machinery and that public trust demands complete transparency. We are committed to open-source code and open documentation. Our development process is transparent: you can follow every new feature as it is developed, every bug fix as it’s applied, and view the tests we use to verify all of our code works as expected.

We’re the only voting system in the United States that provides this level of transparency.

View all our code on GitHub: https://github.com/votingworks

VotingWorks

Strengthening democracy for all voters by promoting the responsible use of technology in elections.

Verified Voting’s mission is to strengthen democracy for all voters by promoting the responsible use of technology in elections. We are a non-partisan organization focused exclusively on the critical role technology plays in election administration. Our staff, Board, and Board of Advisors consist of nationally-recognized subject matter experts on the issue of election integrity and the responsible use of technology. Since our founding in 2004 by computer scientists, we have acted on the belief that the integrity and strength of our democracy rely on citizens’ trust that each vote is counted as cast. In the ever-shifting world of election security, where new threats or challenges can emerge at any time, we are working to guide elections toward greater accuracy, security, and verifiability.

Verified Voting

LWV empowers voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels. 

The League of Women Voters Education Fund works to encourage the active and informed participation of citizens in government and to increase understanding of major public policy issues. 

Mission: Empowering voters. Defending democracy. 

Vision: We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate. 

Value: We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy. 

We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy. That's been our vision since 1920, when the League of Women Voters was founded by leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. For 100 years, we have been a nonpartisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters should play a critical role in democracy. The League was officially founded in Chicago in 1920, just six months before the 19th amendment was ratified and women won the vote. Formed by the suffragists of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the League began as a "mighty political experiment" designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. February 14th, 2023, marks 103 years that the League of Women Voters has empowered voters and defended democracy. Over the last century, we’ve fought for election protection, democratic reforms, and equal access to the ballot—all while maintaining our commitment to nonpartisanship and fostering an informed electorate.

League of Women Voters Education Fund

Nonprofit law organization dedicated to achieving equality in the criminal system and ending cycles of poverty across the nation.

Through impact litigation, policy reform, and public outreach we seek radical reform of systemic inequalities in our justice system. We believe the justice system should improve well-being across society, but repeatedly it creates cycles of poverty, ruins lives, and makes everybody less safe. When counterproductive laws trap millions of people in poverty every year communities suffer. A justice system premised on equality should promote opportunities for all including housing, employment, and family relationships. Our mission is to end inequality in the justice system.

Since our founding in 2014, we have developed special expertise to fight the use of pretrial money bail, wealth-based driver's license suspensions, debtor's prisons,  abusive private probation practices, and other areas of wealth-based inequality in our justice system.  Equal Justice Under Law works to create lasting improvements in our justice system — to end wealth-based discrimination and create a justice system that is truly equal.

Equal Justice Under Law

YOU bring real, lasting social change in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC). Join us.

“Women are the first victims of war, but only they hold the unique key to peace.” – Julienne Lusenge 
 
 The Fund for Congolese Women (FFC)   supports women's grassroots organizations through financial and technical assistance.  FFC is unique - the only women-led grant-giving NGO in the entire DRC. We provide grants to local women-led organizations that are often in the most remote, difficult to reach areas.   Why? We are unshakable believers in local solutions to local issues.  We know that the brave women and girls working at the grassroots level have the solutions. We know that when women become agents of change, they benefit, their families benefit, their communities benefit. Since its inception in 2007, FFC has funded more than 386 projects throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo. We support projects focusing on eliminating sexual violence against women, delivering empowerment programs for women and girls, educating women about HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, and advocating for environmental justice and access to resources and land for women.  Generous individuals like you make our work possible.  Thank you! 
 
 
 Join the conversation and follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Fund for Congolese Women (FFC)

Luật Khoa tạp chí là một tổ chức báo chí độc lập nhằm cổ xúy cho nhân quyền, dân chủ và pháp quyền ở Việt Nam. 

Chúng tôi xây dựng:

- Luật Khoa tạp chí (luatkhoa.org) để cung cấp thông tin và kiến thức chính trị, pháp luật cho độc giả Việt Nam;
- The Vietnamese (thevietnamese.org) để đưa thông tin chính trị, nhân quyền Việt Nam ra thế giới.

Ủng hộ cho hai tờ báo này, tức là bạn đang góp phần cổ vũ cho những giá trị tự do và nhân văn, cũng như đóng góp vào quá trình xây dựng một nền báo chí độc lập, tử tế và chất lượng cao cho Việt Nam.

Chúng tôi "làm báo độc lập, không sợ ai, và không nịnh ai". Không có chỗ cho não trạng tự kiểm duyệt ở đây.

Chúng tôi từ chối các khoản đóng góp từ những nguồn đảng phái chính trị, tổ chức tôn giáo, và các nguồn mà chúng tôi có căn cứ để nghi ngờ về tính hợp pháp.

Luật Khoa (Legal Initiatives for Vietnam) là một tổ chức phi lợi nhuận được đăng ký tại bang California, Hoa Kỳ theo quy chế 501(c)(3). Số EIN của chúng tôi là: 81-5257301. Các khoản đóng góp của độc giả ở Hoa Kỳ cho Luật Khoa đều được trừ thuế (tax-deductible).

Tất cả các khoản đóng góp và chi tiêu đều được một hãng kiểm toán độc lập bên ngoài Việt Nam kiểm toán mỗi năm.

Mọi thắc mắc xin liên hệ: editor@luatkhoa.org.

Xin cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ Luật Khoa!

Luật Khoa tạp chí

The Equal Vote Coalition is the driving force behind STAR Voting and a leading proponent of better voting methods in general.

The Equal Vote Coalition's mission is to promote true equality in the vote. The Equal Vote Coalition mandate is top-notch research, community education, and coalition building.

Our five core criteria for electoral reform are: Equality, Honesty, Accuracy, Expressiveness, and Simplicity. These criteria form the basis by which we evaluate and advance proposals for better voting.

Equal Vote Coalition

Good Ancestor Foundation

A Scrutineer is: "a person who counts votes in an election or who makes certain that the counting has been done correctly."

**Scrutineers** believes that ***fair, transparent, and accurate elections*** are essential to the future of our nation - and citizen oversight plays a crucial role in helping protect American elections from interference, discrimination, and errors.

Our work sits at the intersection of Election Protection, Election Integrity, and Election Education.  Most election protection organizations do the vital work of helping ensure that all eligible voters can easily register and vote - their work ends when voters cast their ballots. ***Scrutineers' work starts at the polling place and continues well after election results have been published.*** It's the crucial work of observing at polls, recounts, and audits, and of collecting and documenting election results (poll tapes, ballot images, and results data) to perform comparisons and analyses to ensure that the results are accurate - that every vote gets counted as the voter intended.

**Our mission** is to educate, train, and mobilize *nonpartisan election scrutineers* to ensure all voters can vote, and all votes are counted accurately, in order to increase voter confidence and achieve and sustain a thriving democracy in the United States.

**Our goal** is a nation where all voters and our votes are universally cherished as **essential** to ensuring that those elected to public office truly represent the honorable values and priorities of the people.

Our free trainings educate the public on how to become an active component of election integrity, and on how to communicate with election officials, candidates, and legislators so that transparency and civic participation can restore trust in our elections.

Scrtuinteers' board will be expanding to reflect the diversity of the American electorate.  Our current chair is an AAPI woman with a disability, and the other five members also represent youth, seniors, LGBTQ folks, the disabled, and live all around the U.S.

We can't do this work alone - your support is essential in keeping our work going!  If you aren't already a member, [please join us as a Scrutineer](https://scrutineers.org)!

Scrutineers

We train Gen Z women voters, activists, and leaders – those determining the direction of their cities and states - for leadership.

[IGNITE ](https://www.ignitenational.org) is a non-partisan movement of young women and gender expansive youth who are ready and eager to become the next generation of civic and political leaders. IGNITE is a national leader in young women’s civic leadership development and the only organization in the political space that explicitly brings young women who have traditionally been left out of the American democratic process into political power, by giving them the tools, skills, resources, and networks to make their voices heard.

Women, especially BIPOC women and women with disabilities, are dramatically under-represented among the 520,000 office holders nationally, 96% of them local. IGNITE increases the share of women in public leadership: as electeds, appointees, and in supporting positions that push up to appointed and elected roles. IGNITE creates entry points and support for next-gen women to advance in political leadership: from civic and political engagement to community leadership and beyond.

Locally, IGNITE organizes high school and college-aged women to become civically and politically active. Statewide, we train them to advocate on policy impacting women and families. Nationally, we shift culture to propel them into civic and political influence. IGNITE introduces young women to politics before adulthood; provides them with the tools, resources, and training to lead; and gives them a platform, uplifting their voices so the public values their perspectives, experiences, and expertise. These young women become the local commissioners, candidates, and policymakers shifting cities, counties, their states, and our nation to an equitable civic and political arena.

Programs:

Dr. Anne Moses Fellows – Politically ambitious college-aged women hone their political organizing abilities over 18-months by launching, organizing, and running IGNITE college programming efforts. Fellows host events on local policies and civic education; build college chapters; train chapter members to network with local stakeholders and organizations; and support our high school clubs.

IGNITE the Vote – Voting knowledge is the first step toward civic engagement. Participants learn voting basics (how elections happen, why they’re important, how to use a ballot) and issues/measures related to women and families. They register and activate peers on campus; hold candidate meet-and-greets and ballot parties; and educate and engage others on campus who don’t understand how politics impacts their lives.

Legislative Advocacy – Young women train on what legislation is, the policy lifecycle, and how to influence local, state, and national legislation. They practice amplifying their voices on local gender justice issues; then convene at the city and state level. IGNITE the Capitol brings them to their legislative seat to meet policymakers and discuss issues they identify as important.

Training – Comprehensive training teaches young women the skills and strategies to seek and win key leadership roles including seats and appointments on boards and commissions; public office; policy-making internships and positions; campaign staffer, community organizer, and voter activation bootcamps; and more.

Thought Leadership - We train young women to see themselves as leaders, so the public values their knowledge and insights. We center their voices, teaching them to write for and speak in interviews and op-eds with local and national media. They learn to elevate the political ideas they see as important and develop political and cultural power.

IGNITE believes that in order to remove barriers for young women to reach elected office we must support policies promoting equity, economic empowerment, safety, and women’s well-being. We need more diverse representation in leadership and governance that accurately represents the USA's demographics.

We train women such as:

- Former IGNITE Raleigh-Durham Fellow Mary Black, who was appointed to the Environmental Advisory Board in Raleigh, NC in 2020, and to City Council in 2022 as the youngest member ever to serve.
- IGNITE alumna Christina Haswood, who at age 25 is the youngest Native American ever elected to Kansas’s State Legislature. When Haswood first learned about IGNITE she had never imagined holding political office.
- The 60+ member strong IGNITE UCLA chapter, which gained statewide recognition and coverage in the Los Angeles Times for their successful efforts to change policy at the UC Regents and CA state legislature, increasing students’ access to rape crisis kits and confidential sexual assault services on campuses statewide.  

IGNITE participants are 3x more likely to vote, 5x more likely to advocate, and 28% more likely to engage in political action vs. their peers. Elections occur daily across our country; IGNITE uplifts participants’ voices and organizing power to maximize their impact, mobilizing communities on the issues that affect them. As more young women become politically active and engaged, they bring their skills to local campaigns and communities wherever life takes them, championing systemic change toward equity nationwide.

IGNITE National

CAIR New Jersey’s vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR New Jersey’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Support us as we defend the civil rights of New Jersey Muslims, advocate for the community, and empower Muslim youth to become leaders and advocates themselves.

CAIR-NJ

Advancing racial and economic justice to ensure dignity and opportunity for low-income people and people of color.

EBC builds power with systems-impacted people to drive systems-change. Over its 27-year history, the families and communities EBC organizes with have collectively transformed the criminal justice system in California, from closing  abusive youth prisons to passing first-of-its-kind legislation to challenge racial discrimination in trials and sentencing. Building on the organizing approach of civil rights leader Ella Baker, EBC invests in the leadership of the people most impacted by racial oppression. EBC is led by systems-impacted people and implements solutions created from lived expertise. Recent California victories like the Racial Justice Act for All, the RISE Act, and the Access to Programming Act were pioneered at EBC and are poised to bring thousands home to their families. EBC also invests in leadership in its core base. For example, currently incarcerated people are most impacted – but least included – in policies for decarceration. Through EBC’s 9,000+ inside member network, currently incarcerated people weigh in on policy solutions, organize with their peers, speak out on issues impacting their lives, and get support to advocate for their freedom. Locally, in the Bay Area, EBC builds credible alternatives to prisons. Restore Oakland, EBC’s community center, models investments that return opportunity to over-criminalized neighborhoods. Here, EBC and partners offer resources like restorative justice circles, re-entry support, tenants rights tools, job training, and entrepreneurship funding that build a vibrant, prosperous community. Organizing for safety, power, freedom, and opportunity, EBC advances the self-determination of the people most impacted by the criminal justice system.

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Educates and activates individuals, organizations, and institutions to interrupt racism, bigotry, and prejudice.

The Montana Racial Equity Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, advocates equity and justice for historically marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed peoples in Montana. We educate, train, and activate organizers, individuals, groups, organizations, institutions, and businesses to invest in interrupting racism, bigotry, and prejudice whenever encountered.

The Montana Racial Equity Project

Equality Community Center is a non-profit organization. It is based in Portland, ME. It received its nonprofit status in 2018.

The Equality Community Center is a collaborative workplace for LGBTQ+ and allied social justice seeking non-profit organizations.

We strive to be a safe and inclusive gathering space that provides social and educational programming for all, while supporting the most marginalized in our communities.

Equality Community Center

Trestle strengthens social movement technology so organizers can go further, faster. 

21st century movements for justice, equity and progress are fighting uphill battles — and the tech they use shouldn’t be one of them. But our organizers have not been equipped to make critical tech decisions, leaving the movement vulnerable to security threats, costly decisions and unstable tools. 

Trestle is here to help bridge the gap. 

We’re here to help get tech projects on track, protect teams and tools from threats, and ensure technology is never a barrier to victory — in ways that are accessible, culturally specific and sustainable.

Trestle Collaborative is the place for front line organizations to secure free-tech services. Since our start in 2021, we’ve worked on some of the most critical high impact issues by providing over $1.6 million in free tech services through our community of over 130+ mission-driven technologists who provide hands-on guidance to front-line organizations.

Donations ensure that cost is never a barrier for our partners on the ground.

Trestle Education Fund

We defend people's civil and political rights


Civil Rights Defenders works for and together with human rights defenders fighting for democracy and civil and political rights across the world. Our task is to make sure that they can work smarter, faster, and safer. Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, we defend human rights. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog. With your support, we can accomplish more.

We partner with and support human rights defenders in more than 300 organisations in 50 countries on four continents.

Civil Rights Defenders

A nonprofit organization focused on national and international issues based in Atlanta. It received its nonprofit status in 2001.

Joseph E Lowery Institute For Justice And Human Rights

Next gen, racial justice & civil rights org inspiring & supporting natl & local movements toward a just democracy.

Advancement Project National Office focuses on tackling inequity with innovative strategies and strong community alliance. We combine law, communications, policy, and technology to create workable solutions and achieve systemic change on issues of democracy, voting rights, and access to justice. Our movement lawyering model has sparked a new approach to the practice of civil rights law, and our pioneering work on the school-to-prison pipeline and voter protection have not only catalyzed new movements and shifted national discourse but has led to significant reforms in our society. We remain at the cutting edge of the racial justice movement. 

Advancement Project’s California office is a public policy change organization rooted in the civil rights movement. We engineer large-scale systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility. Our goal is that members of all communities have the safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive. Our signature is reach and impact. With our strong ties to diverse communities, unlikely alliances, policy and legal expertise, and creative use of technology, we and our partners have won over $15 billion to extend opportunity. Whether it is to build 150 schools, transform the City of Los Angeles’ approach to its gang epidemic, or revolutionize the use of data in policymaking, Advancement Project California evens the odds for communities striving to attain equal footing and equal treatment.

Advancement Project

We Vote (tax deductible 501(c)(3)) helps voter vote in every US election, with confidence.

We Vote

Digital Democracy Project—A voter-driven system of government for the 21st Century.

Digital Democracy Project is a free civic engagement platform — a mobile voting app + online accountability system — digital technology connecting voters with the legislative process. Voters cast ballots on the app to tell their legislators what they want on pending bills. Online results compare what voters want to what legislators deliver. Legislative Scorecards help voters make more informed decisions on whom to reelect, or replace.

Digital Democracy Project

We harness the promise of technology to modernize the American
voting experience.

We connect Americans with the information they need to become and remain civically engaged, and ensure that our elections are more professional, inclusive, and secure.

CTCL is a team of civic technologists, trainers, researchers, election administration and data experts working to foster a more informed and engaged democracy, and helping to modernize U.S. elections.

We connect election officials with tools and trainings so they can best serve their communities. We provide information the public needs to develop lifelong civic habits.

Our founders — Tiana Epps-Johnson, a civic technologist, Whitney May, a former election official, and Donny Bridges, a civic data expert —joined forces in 2012 to get more Americans civically engaged. Bringing together their unique, individual areas of expertise offered a chance to break down the traditional siloes found in the civic data and election administration worlds.

Before launching CTCL, Tiana, Whitney, and Donny set out on a “listening tour” of election offices, meeting with public servants in courthouses and capitals from New Jersey to California, Wisconsin to Tennessee.
As they crisscrossed the country they saw:
Huge advances in data programs and tools that connect people to the civic information they need to participate in elections:
-People hustling in local offices to do more with very little
-County election boards striving to keep pace with technology
-City clerks collecting data to improve the voter experience in their communities

They recognized an opportunity to lift up innovations and tackle challenges on a nationwide level — by highlighting best practices, creating easy to use resources for administrators, and developing infrastructure to better deliver information about elections.

Today, CTCL is a nationally-recognized nonprofit that partners with everyone — from rural election offices to the largest tech companies in the world.

Center for Technology and Civic Life

We are transforming U.S. elections by advocating for election security, public oversight, and fair and accessible voting.  

INFORM: Communicating the problem

Problems with our elections have been building for years, but often, are not well understood by the public. 

- We focus on actionable improvements that experts recommend to improve election security, accuracy, transparency, fairness and accessibility. 
- Our forums have reached tens of thousands of viewers. 
- Our Substack has almost 10,000 subscribers 
-  In the U.S. all elections are local, so we work locally to educate, connect, and empower communities to improve their elections. 

CONNECT: Collaborative organizing

SMART Elections is building bridges with groups across the political and issue spectrum.

- Collaboration is the key to sparking a successful transpartisan movement to improve U.S. elections.
- We collaborate with disability rights communities

EMPOWER: Public watchdog

- We teach advocates and non-partisan poll watchers best practices to protect and monitor elections, using publicly available data. 
- We analyze election results and make that information available to the public. 
- If necessary we pursue legal avenues to improve our elections.

Smart Elections Inc

Follow civic news about the local candidates, ballots, and bills that shape our daily lives.

Michigan Women is a nonprofit that delivers accessible civic news and education with clear, nonpartisan explanations of candidates, ballot proposals, and legislation. We publish explainers, articles, interviews, newsletters, and podcasts, and host community discussions that help people engage with local and statewide issues.

Our content helps residents understand who represents them, what policies are being decided, and how those decisions affect daily life. All materials are free to the public, fact-checked, and designed to encourage open, respectful conversation and informed participation. As capacity grows, the organization will expand to include more contributors and regional coverage across Michigan.

We lead with a women-first lens because women have long been the community builders of Michigan—when women are informed and connected, communities thrive.  Our vision is a Michigan where people engage confidently in civic life, conversations lead to solutions, and communities are strengthened through informed decisions that reflect the will of the people.

Michigan Women Education Fund

We are building a world where people of color are free, safe, and powerful.   

**For 25 years, Advancement Project has stood with grassroots leaders and everyday people fighting for the future we all deserve.**

We are in deep partnership with communities of color across the country to build a powerful Movement for racial justice—working in courtrooms, classrooms, and statehouses to protect voting rights, ensure quality education for Black and Brown students, and build community-based alternatives to policing and incarceration.

We believe in the brilliance of ordinary people leading extraordinary change—and your support gives them the tools and power to win.

At this critical moment, your donation fuels the work of protecting democracy and public education, expanding justice, and transforming systems. It's more than a gift—it’s a commitment to people, to movements, and to the future.

**Thank you for being part of this fight.**

ADVANCEMENT PROJECT

Nebraska Appleseed is a multi-issue, multi-strategy organization that fights for justice and opportunity for all.

Since 1996, Nebraska Appleseed has fought for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans. We take a systemic approach to complex issues – such as child welfare, immigration policy, affordable health care and poverty – and we take our work wherever we can do the most good, whether that’s in the courthouse, at the Capitol, or in the community.

Nebraska Appleseed

Empowering Southern communities to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) was founded in 2007 by a multidisciplinary group—predominantly people of color — who believed families and communities engaged in social justice movements need a team of lawyers, social scientists, community organizers, and media specialists to support them in their efforts to dismantle structural racism and oppression. Rooted in the South — which we define as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia — our work is grounded in deep, trust-based relationships with community-based organizations across the region.  

**Our Mission:**
SCSJ partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities across the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights. Through an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach centered on voting rights, justice system reform, and environmental justice, we combine legal advocacy, litigation, research, and strategic communications to expand access to justice for all. 

**Our Vision:**
When communities are empowered with the tools and strategies to pursue their own goals, they come to know — through lived experience — their power to effect meaningful change on the issues that shape their lives. 

**Our Approach:**
SCSJ’s distinctive, base-building model of community lawyering is rooted in the priorities of the diverse communities we serve and shaped by the interconnected realities of racial justice. This approach guides every aspect of our work, ensuring those most affected by injustice are not only heard, but lead the way in confronting the challenges they face. We are deeply committed to providing long-term, responsive support that centers community needs rather than institutional agendas and delivers the most effective outcomes through litigation, legal advocacy, research, and strategic communications. 

**Our Values:**
We are committed to: 

- Providing legal representation for marginalized communities who might otherwise go unheard.  
- Supporting impacted communities to create lasting, positive change and dismantle structural inequities.   
- Grounding our priorities in community voices, ensuring our work is driven by those most affected. 

**Our Core Programs and Goals:**
SCSJ’s core programs — Voting Rights, Justice System Reform, and Environmental Justice — are strengthened by our integrated Research and Communications teams, enabling a holistic, community-driven approach that improves outcomes for people across the South. Together, these efforts advance justice across generations by expanding access to the legal system and confronting its structural inequities that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. Through our interdisciplinary model, we equip communities with the tools to be their own agents of change. Our core programs’ goals are: 

- **Voting Rights:** Strengthen and defend democracy by ensuring disenfranchised communities can advocate for fair policies and districts, have their voices and votes counted equally, and elect representatives who are truly accountable to their needs. 
- **Justice System Reform:** Advance social, economic, and racial justice by supporting and strengthening communities most impacted by mass incarceration, while working to build a less punitive, more accountable criminal legal system that fosters safety, healing, and equity. 
- **Environmental Justice:** Counter environmental inequities and discriminatory land use practices by empowering community leadership and agency to impact decisions affecting their health and the environment. 
- **Research:** Provide quantitative data collection, research, and analysis in support of litigation and policy advocacy in the Voting Rights, Justice System Reform, and Environmental Justice program areas.  
- **Communications:** Support underserved communities in fighting injustice and sharing their stories through powerful strategies — from traditional media engagement to educational events and initiatives — so they can better advocate for their rights and reach key decision makers. 

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Project New Yorker Corporation is a nonprofit organization focused on education. It is based in Jamaica, NY. It received its nonprofit status in 2017.

Project New Yorker is a New York based non profit organization for supporting immigrants and low-income residents who lives in New York. We focus on helping diverse adults and women from all walks of life who may face unique challenges. 

Did you know in NYC many people struggle with limited English proficiency, poverty and overcrowding issues!

That's why we're here to offer essential services and support for immigrants and low-income communities. We're one of the few organizations doing this work in NYC and the only one in Queens, making us a vital resource for those who need us.

Project New Yorker

We're creating a decentralized, grassroots think tank and collective action platform where people can Think, Plan, Do, Together.



**The Hack Foundation: Building a New Kind of Think Tank**

**Democracy is in crisis. Trust in institutions has collapsed. Millions of people want to act but feel powerless.**

The Hack Foundation exists to change that. We are building a decentralized, community-driven think tank where **everyday people can collaborate, plan solutions, and launch real-world action.**

This is not another “ideas blog” or closed-door policy shop. It’s civic infrastructure for the 21st century.

**Why This Matters Now**

- **Traditional think tanks** serve political donors and corporate backers. They write reports for power, not solutions for people.
- **Grassroots movements** burn with passion, but without shared tools they lose momentum.
- **Communities everywhere** are left asking: *“How do we turn ideas into real change?”*

We provide the missing pipeline: **Think → Plan → Do. Together.**

**Our Model**

- **Think:** Real-time, encrypted discussions. Free, secure, and open to all voices.
- **Plan:** Ideas promoted into structured forums. Debated, refined, and voted on.
- **Do:** Projects launched with clear tasks, transparent funding, and community tracking.

AI assistance migrates the discussion from section to section, keeping momentum alive, while a decentralized, censorship-resistant backbone ensures resilience against pressure or takedown.

**What Makes This Different**

- **Transparency:** All finances and project funds are tracked on open ledgers.
- **Diversity of voices:** Anyone can contribute: professionals, advocates, citizens.
- **Resilience:** peer-to-peer design makes it hard to censor or silence communities.
- **Community governance:** Rules are transparent, not dictated by hidden boards.

**Why Your Donation Matters**

Funding this project means building a platform that can outlast political cycles and empower people for decades. Every dollar helps us:

1. Finish core development of the platform.
2. Launch pilot communities to test and refine.
3. Scale toward a permanent, independent civic infrastructure.

We are seeking to build a **$5 million endowment**, but the first stage is about proving traction. Your support today fuels the foundation that makes the larger vision possible.

**Impact You’ll Create**

- A **secure space** for open civic dialogue.
- A **structured pipeline** that moves ideas into action.
- **Transparent projects** backed by community oversight.
- A **lasting platform** where everyday citizens drive the agenda.

Your donation is not charity. It’s an **investment in democracy** at the moment we need it most.

**Our Long-Term Vision**

Over time the features and functionality will grow to continue to support the core purpose: outfitting civically engaged people to make a tangible difference.

- A **Community Chest** will fund projects that prove real-world impact, based on platform defined KPIs.
- **Universities and academia** will partner with us to poll diverse perspectives, and facilitate analytical discovery.
- The Hack Foundation will become a **permanent civic institution**, powered from the bottom up, secured by transparency, and sustained by the people.

**Join Us**

This is the moment to act. We can no longer wait for current institutional systems to fix themselves.

Your donation makes you part of a movement that will outlast headlines, elections, and political cycles. Together we can build the tools for people to **Think. Plan. Do.**

**Donate today. Be part of the foundation for a new civic future.**

The Hack Foundation

LEDGE uses litigation to challenge unjust laws in Japan, defending human rights, equality, and dignity.

1. History

LEDGE was established in October 2023 as Japan’s first and only organization exclusively dedicated to public interest litigation. It was founded by a small team of lawyers and a creative director/campaigner, all with prior experience in strategic litigation and advocacy. Together, they recognized the urgent need for systemic, organized, and professionalized efforts to make litigation a sustainable and impactful tool for social change in Japan.

Until now, most public interest lawsuits in Japan have relied heavily on volunteer efforts by lawyers working in isolation, often without institutional support or dedicated resources. LEDGE was created to change that landscape and to build an organization capable of pooling expertise and resources, pursuing litigation at scale, and standing up to powerful state actors in court. At its core, LEDGE aims to institutionalize public interest litigation as a normal and effective means of addressing social challenges in Japan.

2. Goals and Mission

LEDGE’s mission is: Changing the Law Forward.

We challenge unjust laws, outdated policies, and entrenched systemic practices that infringe upon human rights and dignity in Japan, especially in areas the government has failed to address. Through public interest litigation, we aim to win not only legal victories but also social recognition, policy reform, and cultural change.

As of July 2025, LEDGE is actively supporting eight public interest lawsuits, all at the Tokyo District Court. These cases address urgent human rights issues ranging from youth political participation and gender equality to racial justice and reproductive freedom. By the end of 2029, we aim to support a total of 30 such cases, contributing to a growing body of case law and public awareness that shifts Japan’s legal and civic culture.

3. Past and Current Activities

LEDGE currently supports or collaborates on eight active public interest cases, each aimed at challenging systemic injustice and catalyzing reform. Below is a brief overview of each:

(1) Lawsuit to Lower the Candidacy Age in Japan

This case challenges the Public Offices Election Act, established over 70 years ago, which sets a high candidacy age of 25 or 30. While Japan has lowered the voting age and age of majority to 18, the right to run for office remains restricted. We argue that the age restriction lacks reasonable justification and violates the constitutional principle of popular sovereignty. The lawsuit aims to expand democratic participation by questioning whether this barrier is necessary or fair in today’s society.

(2) Lawsuit to End Racially Discriminatory Police Questioning

Racial profiling remains a persistent and harmful practice in Japan. This case, brought on behalf of individuals of foreign origin, challenges the systemic police practice of disproportionately questioning people based on their race or ethnicity, without objective suspicion. We argue that racial profiling violates dignity and equality, and demand its abolition as incompatible with a diverse and democratic society.

(3) “Maternity Is Not My Body’s Purpose” Lawsuit

Japan’s Maternal Health Act severely restricts access to sterilization, especially for women who choose not to have children. Requirements include prior childbirth and spousal consent, with penalties for unauthorized procedures. This lawsuit claims such restrictions violate the right to reproductive self-determination and calls for a constitutional and legislative overhaul of the current framework.

(4) Lawsuit for a Society Where Married Couples Can Take Separate Surnames

Japanese law requires married couples to adopt the same surname, resulting in women predominantly adopting their husbands’ surname. This case supports plaintiffs who seek the legal right to retain their own surnames upon marriage. We argue that names are integral to identity and individuality, and that couples should be free to choose, a right currently denied under existing law.

(5) Open Court Lawsuit – Questioning “Order” in the Courtroom

Three plaintiffs are suing the state for arbitrary courtroom restrictions imposed by judges, such as concealing rainbow socks in an LGBTQ+ case and covering protest messages on clothing. These actions stifle free expression and risk closing off judicial spaces. The lawsuit seeks to ensure that courts remain open, impartial, and accessible to all.

(6) Lawsuit to Recognize Childcare Fees as a Necessary Business Expense

Under current tax practices, childcare expenses are not recognized as necessary for income generation. This case, led by working parents, argues that such expenses should be deductible, especially in an era of dual-income families and declining birth rates. To support public engagement, we also launched a campaign site: https://hoikuryo.ledge.or.jp/, featuring commentary from experts and advocates.

(7) Lawsuit for Under-18s’ Freedom to Engage in Election Campaigning

Under the current Public Offices Election Act, minors are prohibited from engaging in election campaigning, and violations result in penalties. This case, brought by four youths, challenges a ban on minors participating in election campaigning. The plaintiffs argue that the prohibition violates their freedom of political expression. The lawsuit seeks to empower youth participation in democracy and expand the civic rights of under-18s.

(8) “End Hostage Justice!” Lawsuit

Japan’s criminal justice system allows prolonged detention of suspects who refuse to confess or remain silent, commonly known as “hostage justice.” This lawsuit, led by four plaintiffs, argues that such practices violate constitutional protections and inflict severe harm. The case calls for the abolition of detention rules that allow indefinite incarceration without trial.

In addition to litigation, LEDGE actively engages in public advocacy, communications, and lobbying tailored to each case. For example, our childcare expense lawsuit is accompanied by an online campaign platform to mobilize public support and generate wider conversation. We believe litigation is not just about court rulings, and it’s a catalyst for collective dialogue and reform.

4. Future Planned Activities

Looking ahead, LEDGE plans to significantly expand the scope and impact of public interest litigation in Japan. We are actively exploring new cases across a wide spectrum of human rights issues. Our approach will continue to prioritize public interest cases that have the potential to reshape legal standards, spark public debate, and build long-term momentum for systemic change.

To ensure the sustainability of our work, we are also committed to diversifying our funding sources, both within and outside of Japan. By strengthening our financial base, we aim to remain independent, scale up our efforts, and build an enduring institution capable of driving legal reform for decades to come.

Official website: https://ledge.or.jp/en/

General Incorporated Association LEDGE

148788709

1578280819

1873740264

188270313

2052641908

2088874155

We are a nonprofit, so instead of charging fees we rely on the generosity of donors like you.