Endorsements Guide: Local Voices, Local Power

We know groups all across the country have already started thinking about the next election: which races they want to engage in, how they’ll get involved, what level of support they’ll be committing to get their candidates over the finish line. Some groups have already dug in and endorsed some candidates! For groups who chose to make endorsements, we have a new program to help you level up your electoral engagement post-endorsement: Local Voices, Local Power. 

We still live under an election ecosystem deeply out of balance, where Corporate PACs use their deep pockets to press on the democratic scales and buy influence, all the while driving a wedge between us and our elected officials. Since our start, Indivisible has been about empowering the grassroots to resist the right-wing takeover of American government, and that includes fighting back against power-thirsty billionaires and their candidate puppets. 

Local Voices, Local Power will support and spotlight the hard work you and your groups do to win elections. Through Local Voices, Local Power, Indivisible is putting money and resources into the movement’s hands to reinforce the work you and your groups are already doing to take action, reach voters, and elect candidates who represent your community’s interests, not the interests of CEOs or their billion-dollar corporations.

Making an impact in elections is hard and invaluable work, and is often deeply under-resourced if you’re not connected to a billionaire or two. We may not be billionaires, but we are the grassroots. We’re a network that digs deep, builds connections, and supports one another with the resources we’ve got to help transform our world into something better. Through Local Voices, Local Power, we’re offering you the resources we’ve got to help amplify your local voice to build local power.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply? What are the requirements?

Your application will need to satisfy three key criteria to be considered for Local Voices, Local Power:

1. We’ll need to see committed support to your candidate through the election.
2. Your candidate needs to be a Fighter, aligned with our vision of defeating MAGA Republicans in order to save democracy, protect our personal freedoms, and build an economy that works for all of us.
3. Your Fighter needs have some viability.

Hot tip: If you want a really detailed overview of everything we ask for in the application and why, check out the “Application Walk-Through” section below.

Your group is committed to your candidate.

Your group has run a local endorsement process and issued an endorsement. We’ll want to see that your group has run a fair local endorsement process and will ask you to provide us some details about your process in the application. You can learn more about how your group can make local endorsements in Chapter 5 of our Endorsements Guide.

Your group has a plan to support your endorsed candidate in meaningful ways. The greatest asset we have to offer in elections is our people power. We want to see what your group is doing to take action, reach voters, and elect Fighters. Check out the Chapter 6 of the Endorsement Guide for help with post-endorsement planning.

Your candidate is a Fighter.

Your candidate has a Fighter profile. We’ll want to verify that your candidate is aligned on baseline issues, but we’re more interested to know what draws you to support them. What kind of issues are they running on? How do they align with your group’s vision? If this is a primary, what makes this candidate stand out against others in the field? Hype us up!

Your Fighter is viable.

Your Fighter is already in the conversation. Is your endorsed candidate getting talked about in the media? What has your local political blogger had to say about the race? We’d love for you to share links to these kinds of things with us in your application!

We also love to see other progressive organizations and endorsing groups (e.g. your local League of Conservation Voters chapter or Equality Federation affiliate, your local teachers union) coalescing around the same Fighter. We also love supporting bench building efforts. Let us know if your candidate has been recruited to run by a local candidate recruitment group (e.g. Emerge, Run For Something, Arena). 

There is no one specific characteristic of a race that can show us the extent of a candidate’s viability. To learn more about how we think about viability, check out Chapter 4 of our Endorsements Guide.

Do we need to do a local endorsement process before applying?

Yes! If you’d like more information on how to run a local endorsement process, check out our Local Endorsement Checklist. To dig deeper, take a look at our Endorsement Guide.

What level of the ballot can we submit applications for?

We’re excited to announce that Local Voices, Local Power is accepting applications from groups doing electoral work at any level of the ballot!

Cycle after cycle, we see Indivisibles across the country leveraging their local insight and expertise to win elections. We know you and your groups are supporting candidates at all levels of the ballot, not just the top of the ticket, and want to help you build local progressive power. That means whether you’re supporting a candidate for your school board, for city council, or Secretary of State, your group has a place in this program.*

* Some exclusions apply. See “Considerations We Make While Reviewing Your Application” below.

What is the deadline to apply?

We’ll be accepting applications for Local Voices, Local Power on a rolling basis and announcing selected groups in rounds spread out across 2024. You can find our tentative round announcement schedule here.

What is a “headline” race and why are you asking me about it in the application?

Your group’s “headline” race is the race that has your group the most energized and excited to get out and talk to voters. It can be a race at any level of the ballot. 

We know that many groups endorse in multiple races at multiple levels of the ballot. Every race is important, not just the ones at the top of the ballot. But for some races, there’s something about them that sets them apart. Maybe it’s a competitive seat, maybe your community sees it as a referendum on an important local issue, maybe there’s a barrier-breaking candidate running, or maybe it’s simply the top-of-the ticket race. Whatever it is, it’s got people’s attention. 

What resources do groups get as part of the program?

If selected for Local Voices, Local Power, your group will receive: 

• reimbursements for event supplies - up to $400 per event
• swag & social graphics
• priority access to our voter engagement tools (OpenVPB, miniVAN, Mobilize, EveryAction, etc.)
• dedicated technical assistance from our staff of political experts

On top of that, we’ll highlight the ongoing and invaluable contributions each group is making to win the races they’re focused on. We know that when Indivisibles get behind a candidate, they mean business. The more people see the impact you’re making, the more they’ll want to be a part of it. And we need as many folks involved in this election as we can get!

We are always looking for new ways to support and shout out the work Indivisibles are doing, so don’t be surprised to see that this list changes over time!

Is this an endorsement/what makes this different from an endorsement?

Local Voices, Local Power is not an endorsement program, but a group support program. The biggest distinction between this program and an endorsement program is that in an endorsement program, support and resources would go directly to candidates. Local Voices, Local Power is instead providing our groups with resources to support their voter outreach efforts within their own local endorsement programs. 

Does the candidate need to answer a national questionnaire to be accepted?

Nope! We’ll want to see that you’ve verified that your candidate is aligned on some baseline policy issues. There are a variety of ways you can do that through your group’s endorsement process. We recommend asking candidates to complete a questionnaire or participate in a Q&A or candidate forum. You can learn more about ways to evaluate candidates in Chapter 5 of the Endorsements Guide.

What will the candidate get?

Candidates will get supercharged support from their local Indivisible group. Our resources are going to the groups and the work they’re doing for their candidates, rather than to the candidates directly. We’ll be providing all Local Voices, Local Power groups with a tailored local endorsement badge, which they can share with their locally endorsed candidate. 

The Application Walk-Through

We’ll walk through every page of the Local Voices, Local Power application and give some insight into why we’re asking for this information, what things you should consider in your responses, and some program exclusions.

Group Information

On this page, we’re collecting information about you and your group. This includes information like your name, personal phone, email address and mailing address, your group’s name, and your role in the group. Having this information allows us to contact you about your application. We also need to know where to send physical materials, should your group be selected to participate.

We also ask for information about the legal structure of your group. This question is vital, as your group’s structure has a big impact on your application. Specifically, due to legal constraints, we cannot admit groups into LVLP who have incorporated as a 501(c)3. 

Separately, if your group is registered as a federal or state PAC, there may be limitations to how we can support your work through Local Voices, Local Power. Your group is not automatically disqualified from participating, so please don’t be dissuaded from applying, we may just need to adjust what supports & resources we make available to your group.

Additionally, we want to know how your group might already be involved in some of our other national programs, so we ask who your Indivisible organizer is and whether your group participates in the Distributed Fundraising program. If your group doesn’t have a relationship with your Indivisible organizer, be assured that your group is still more than welcome to apply for LVLP. We ask about your organizer in the application because we want to make sure our groups have all the resources they need to be successful, and there is no better resource than a solid relationship with your organizer. If you’re not in touch with your organizer, we’d love to help get you connected to discuss the benefits of organizing with Indivisible! Shoot an email to supportteam@indivisible.org and we’ll get you sorted!

Additional Group Information

This page is meant to capture additional information about your group. We specifically want to know if there’s a member of your group who is designated to speak to the press about your electoral activity. Different groups have different leadership structures and roles. Some groups designate a member to be a press or media contact, who will represent the group when speaking to the media. Your group may or may not have a designated media contact. If you’re unsure how to answer, list your own information and we can sort those details out at another time.

We also include space on this page for you to upload your group’s logo and other images of your group. These can be portraits of your group, photos of your group in action, images of your group with your endorsed candidate, or any other image your group has taken or produced that you think would be a good representation of your group and the work they do. Additionally, there’s a question asking for your consent for us to use the images and written responses from your application in our public-facing materials. A major benefit of Local Voices, Local Power is putting a spotlight on your work for the movement to see, appreciate, find inspiration from, and get energized by. Groups who do not consent to their images and written application responses being used in our public-facing materials will not be admitted into the program. 

Lastly, this page includes a space for you to add in your group’s contact links. These can include a group website, email address, Facebook group, Threads account, X (formerly Twitter) page, and more. This information will help us to connect activists in your area to the work you’re doing. If your group does not have a social media presence, or you want to learn more about how to leverage social media in your organizing, check out our Guide to Emerging Social Media Platforms!

Local Endorsement Process

On this page, we ask you about your group’s local endorsement process. To participate in Local Voices, Local Power, your group needs to have administered a local endorsement process and made an endorsement. This does not bar your group from coming back and applying once you have made a local endorsement. If making endorsements sounds overwhelming or you’re not sure where to start, our Endorsements Guide is the perfect resource to help get you going. 

When telling us about your local endorsement process, you can include as much or as little detail as you want, but generally more information is better. Here are some questions you can consider when crafting your answer:

• When did you initiate discussions about making endorsements?
• How many members of your Indivisible community did you talk to about the race & candidates running?
• Did you engage with other Indivisible groups in your area?
• What kind of voting procedure did you employ?
• What level of consensus did you need to reach to endorse (e.g. simple majority, supermajority, plurality)?

We’re especially interested to know whether you engaged other Indivisible groups in your area in your endorsement process, and if so, which groups. We’ve pulled that out into its own question to make sure we’re collecting this information from everyone.

We know many groups endorse in multiple races and support multiple candidates at many levels of the ballot. If your group has endorsed in multiple races, that’s awesome! We ask you to list out all the candidates your group has endorsed for this election, along with the offices those candidates are running for. This list helps us determine if there are any limitations on how your group can use LVLP resources. Campaign finance regulations and reporting requirements vary between and within states; we’ll use your list to determine if there are any legal constraints in your group’s area that would prevent Indivisible resources from being used to support any of your candidates.

Finally, we want to know if your group is planning to independently support your candidates’ campaigns for office, or if your group intends to coordinate with campaigns. We have a great explainer on campaign finance and the difference between IE and coordination, if you’re not sure what either of those things entails. Please note that we cannot admit groups who are coordinating with the campaigns of the candidates they’ve endorsed (including their campaign committees). If you’re unsure whether your group is coordinated or not, let’s connect! Reach out to supportteam@indivisible.org to connect with our expert staff.

Candidate Information

On this page, we ask for information about the candidate you’re most excited to be supporting this election cycle. Think of this as your group’s headline race, or the race that is most important to your group. We ask for the candidate’s name, the office they’re running for, and whether you’re engaging in the primary or general election. We also include space for you to provide links to the candidate’s website, Facebook page, and X account, as well as a space to upload a headshot of the candidate and a space to link to any news clippings about your candidate’s run for office. The links, headshot, and news clippings are not required, so don’t worry if you don’t have those on hand.

We also ask for some additional information about the candidate. Specifically, we’d love to know if, to your knowledge, your candidate has participated in a candidate recruitment program or received any endorsements from other groups. Candidate recruitment programs are typically designed to provide training and campaign support to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. Run for Something, EMERGE, Run to Win, and Arena are all organizations involved in candidate recruitment. Other endorsing groups can be Indivisible groups or other kinds of politically engaged groups like the Sierra Club, the teachers union, your local LGBTQ advocacy organization, your state’s Working Families Party, etc. It’s totally fine if you don’t have this information on hand! We just like knowing how a candidate might be plugged into your local progressive ecosystem.

Candidate Support

This is the part of the application where we want you to get us hyped up about your candidate! Tell us what makes you excited about your candidate and how Local Voices, Local Power will take your electoral engagement to the next level! Again, while you can include as much or as little information as you want, more information is better. Here are some questions to consider while thinking about what makes you excited about your candidate:

• Why does my group think this candidate is the best person to hold this office?
• How does this candidate’s values and policy stances align with my group’s values and policy stances? 
• What issues does this candidate champion and how are they already, without being in the office they’re running for, working to address those issues?

Some questions to consider when thinking about how LVLP will help you support your candidate through the election are…

• Aside from making an endorsement, how has my group already been investing time in this election? 
• What voter engagement activities would my group be better able to do with the support of this program? 
• What activities do I know my group generally enjoys doing, and how can I channel that interest into voter engagement?

Considerations We Make While Reviewing Your Application

These are many of the considerations we make when reviewing an application to be a part of Local Voices, Local Power. Please reach out to supportteam@indivisible.org with any questions you have about Local Voices, Local Power, including how we evaluate applications.

Legal Reasons

Your state/local election laws do not permit Indivisible Action to support your electoral work. Election laws vary greatly between and within states. We want to highlight a broad variety of elections and endorsements through this program, but due to those variations in state and local election laws, we may not be able to deliver some or all aspects of Local Voices, Local Power to your group. We’ll reach out quickly to inform you if your submission falls outside our legal framework.

Programmatic reasons 

Space or time constraints! We are only able to spotlight so many groups at a time! Each round, we'll select the strongest applications based on group electoral plans, candidate viability, election timing, and other factors. But don't worry! If your application isn't selected due to space or time constraints, we'll hold onto it and consider your group for future rounds. 

Your candidates are not aligned with Indivisible’s values or priorities. Your candidates should be Fighters – folks strident in their efforts to save democracy, protect our personal freedoms, and build an economy that works for all of us. Each of those fights will look different depending on where in the country you’re having them. We trust your group to endorse candidates who you believe will best represent you on these issues. 
That said, we have some minimum expectations that the work you’re doing is in support of candidates who align with our values and priorities. We will not include your group in Local Voices, Local Power if your endorsed candidates:

• support restrictions on abortion;
• support censorship in the classroom around topics of race, sexuality, and gender;
• support anti-union policies;
• espouse COVID conspiracy theories;
• espouse election conspiracy theories.

The above list is not intended to comprehensively cover all of our red lines around organizational values & priorities. If we determine your candidate is out of alignment, we will provide your group with a detailed explanation as to why. 

Automatic Disqualifications

• Your group has not administered a legitimate endorsement process.
• Your group is registered as a 501c3.
• Your group does not consent to its content being included in public-facing materials.
• Your group is coordinating with your candidates’ campaigns. 
• You have endorsed in a primary against a sitting member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.