Democrats are hemorrhaging voter registrations. What will stop the bleeding?

POSTED BY: 6ixStringJack
UPDATED: Sunday, August 31, 2025 00:13
VIEWED: 259
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6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, August 31, 2025 12:13 AM

https://evanbarker.substack.com/p/democrats-are-hemorrhaging-voter

That's a fine article you wrote there, Mrs. Barker.

It sounds to me like a lot of Democrats even patronizing the NYT are finally feeling comfortable enough to voice their support for common sense. I wish you luck in opening more eyes. It sounds like it's a far more difficult job than it was for you to be getting people registered to vote in 2008. I've been around enough of it myself here, so I can only imagine.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Last week, the New York Times wrote a jaw-dropping article about the Democrats’ voter registration woes. The stunning data further solidifies the shrinking nature of their coalition. Not only are Democrats losing votes, but they are also losing voter registrations.

In the 30 states that track voter registrations, Democrats lost ground in every single one between 2020 and 2024. The data is damning. It all adds up to a 4.5 million deficit of registrations for Democrats. The NYT calls it “a deep political hole” and warns “that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”

This was not a concern that Democrats used to have to worry about. During my first campaign experience as a teenager, I single-handedly registered over 1,000 people to vote as an intern for the Obama campaign.

The Obama campaign of 2008 made voter registration a central part of its strategy. Even a month before the election, all our efforts were focused on optimizing voter registration. Michelle Obama herself came to town to lead the charge, asking volunteers to dedicate all of their time to these efforts. (I passed out at the rally where she spoke, having to be hauled off in an ambulance to the local hospital from overworking myself that day.)

There was a time when Democrats could get people to do field work like this, mostly for free, even to the point of overheating and exhaustion! “Paid canvassing”, at least during Obama’s first election, wasn't necessary.

So what happened?

A myriad of strategists and party insiders give various answers. Pointing their fingers at Democrats’ reliance on non-partisan organizations to conduct voter registration drives. They also complain about a lack of investment in partisan super PACs, saying that donors prefer to give to C3s (nonprofits) because they reap the rewards of a tax write-off, and that a non-deductible donation is a harder sell.

It’s funny because my personal experience with political fundraising has been the opposite of their claims. In fact, the C3 arms of political organizations were the hardest to sell with donors. Non-profits aren’t usually “sexy” enough for politically motivated donors. C3 donations didn’t get donors access to power the way that super PAC or candidate giving does. Donors loved funding TV ads the most.

Tory Gavito, founder of Way to Win, a progressive donor collective, tells the NYT: “It would be naïve to call 2024 anything other than a reckoning on the Democratic brand. To solve a brand problem, you need people talking about that brand — and that requires partisan dollars.”

Gavito’s comments reveal much about how Democratic strategists think about voters and elections. The language she chooses, referring to the party as a “brand,” inadvertently shows her hand. Voters are viewed by orgs and strategists as a product that needs to be marketed and sold to. While there is some truth to this, I believe it highlights the inauthenticity issue the party currently faces. Elections are not about “Coke versus Pepsi”. Elections are about livelihoods, quality of life, and trust. Policy, not just branding, matters.
coca cola can on white plastic pack

But what’s more important, is what Gavito isn’t saying.

The brand is a symptom that ultimately comes from the goals and priorities of the party. For Democratic org leaders, in order to fix a brand issue, partisan dollars should be invested. As a former fundraiser, I see exactly where this is headed. They are testing the waters to reach out to donors with more money asks. There’s no doubt

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