Voting Group’s Ads Dodge People Who Like ‘Duck Dynasty’
The Voter Participation Center (VPC) is actively focused on increasing voter registration and turnout among demographics they refer to as the “New American Majority,” which includes young people, people of color, and unmarried women. The group has primarily targeted young adults aged 18 to 35, who are likely to vote Democrat, and has spent nearly $1 million on Facebook ads in the last three months alone. Their marketing strategy excludes conservative audiences, opting instead to focus on more left-leaning interests.
Since 2018, the VPC has invested over $6 million on Facebook ads aimed at these demographics. They utilize a data-driven approach, harvesting both commercial and public data to identify and reach those who are likely eligible but unregistered to vote. This has resulted in significant voter registration efforts, reportedly leading to over 272,000 new votes in the 2020 election predominantly in swing states.
In recent initiatives, the VPC began sending registration mailers to residents in Oregon, but such actions have raised concerns about potential confusion regarding voter registration status. Their methods have led to criticism for being “imprecise and misleading,” despite their claims of non-partisanship.
The Voter Participation Center (VPC) aims to “help members of the New American Majority register and vote,” according to its website. This apparently excludes those interested in Duck Dynasty, John Wayne, Jimmy Buffett, and “modified Jeeps” — in other words, likely conservatives.
On the surface, these voter registration efforts seem “non-partisan,” as the VPC claims. (“Hey Virginia, register to vote,” reads one colorful, unassuming VPC ad.) But as The Washington Free Beacon first reported, the group’s Facebook ad data shows otherwise.
The VPC has spent an estimated $926,960 on 8,244 voter registration ads within the last 90 days. The group avoids targeting Facebook users interested in things like Clint Eastwood, the Daytona 500, the PGA Tour, Jimmy Buffett, “Southern Living,” and Tom Clancy. Meanwhile, it targets users interested in things like “African-American literature,” “black history,” Goya Foods, and “Mexican word of the day.”
The VPC’s Facebook ad metrics exclude common conservative interests.
The vast majority of VPC ad spending in the last 90 days targeted users aged 18 to 35 — the most likely age range to vote Democrat, according to Pew Research. The group also targeted 57.4 percent of ads specifically to women, the more left-leaning of the two genders among young adults, and it targeted none to men, who skew conservative.
Since 2018, the VPC has spent an estimated total of more than $6 million on Facebook ads, according to ad metrics.
A Democrat Turnout Machine
The VPC claims to strive toward a “New American Majority” comprised of “young people, people of color and unmarried women” — all demographics likely to vote Democrat.
The group harvests “commercial and public data” to increase Democrat turnout, as The Federalist previously reported. When one clicks on its Facebook ads, the link directs users to a portal operated by Rock the Vote — which collects data it can share with a wide network of left-wing organizations.
The VPC sends voter registration forms to voters who are likely eligible but unregistered. These registration efforts were behind more than 272,000 votes in the 2020 election, mostly in swing states.
Last month, the group started sending more than 20,000 registration mailers to residents of several Oregon counties, according to OregonLive. The Clackamas County clerk warned the mailers could make it appear “active voters may not be registered to vote,” which could “lead to confusion and concern.”
The group’s voter registration efforts have drawn criticism for being “imprecise, misleading, ineffective, and potentially illegal,” according to InfluenceWatch.
Leftist Goals
The VPC started in 2003 as “Women’s Voices Women Vote,” according to InfluenceWatch. It changed its name in 2011, expanding its efforts to build the “Rising American Electorate,” or the voting blocs some leftists hoped would create an “emerging Democratic majority.” Tom Lopach is president and CEO of the VPC and Center for Voter Information (CVI), according to LinkedIn. According to InfluenceWatch, he directed the groups’ widespread mail-in and absentee voting efforts in 2020.
Mind the Gap, a Democrat super PAC, wrote a memo recommending the VPC and CVI for victory in 2020. “The most effective tactic in a Presidential year by a wide margin is nonpartisan voter registration focused on underrepresented groups,” the memo reads. The memo further claimed that voter registration is “2 to 5 times more cost-effective at netting additional Democratic votes than the tactics that campaigns will invest in.”
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.
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