Helping Build Momentum for the Most Sweeping Democratic Reforms in a Generation

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the most sweeping package of reforms to fundamentally strengthen our democratic institutions in a generation. Designed to reduce barriers to voting, running for public office, and serving ethically while in office this unique effort and the entire movement are building momentum.

This historic moment would not have been possible without the Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD), a diverse coalition of more than 130 groups—civil rights, environment, labor, and government reform organizations—mobilizing communities across the country to demand that creating a democracy truly of, by, and for the people be a top priority of Congress. 

Starting in December, ReThink helped coordinate and facilitate two weekly communications meetings with the partners, drove a coordinated social media strategy and developed content, message guidance, and a communications toolkit for the coalition.

"The broad-based communications work that ReThink Media has coordinated and the social media products they have produced have been invaluable to the work of the DFAD coalition,” said Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen, one of the leading DFAD organizations. “The collected power of the groups participating in our campaign was magnified by the creative memes, Twitter threads, placement assistance for op-eds, and quick responses to needs from the ReThink team. As we look forward to the next big push in 2021, and seek to build power in the lead up, I am thrilled that we have ReThink in our corner!"

Though the chance of Senate reform is unlikely (Sen. Mitch McConnell has vowed to oppose all measures to strengthen our democracy), many of the core ideas and policies are already picking up steam in the national consciousness, with candidates including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Governor Steve Bullock, calling for various critical democratic reforms – all of which DFAD has advocated.

The resulting media coverage in states from coast to coast looks enormously encouraging for the prospect of making democracy reform a major issue in the year ahead.

ReThink Media at Southern Echo’s Accountable Governance Conference

What will it take to achieve a government reflective of and responsive to our communities? How can we broaden and deepen our movement to achieve that goal? To answer these questions, ReThink joined more than 100 grassroots leaders, organizers, and advocates in Jackson, Miss., this April at Southern Echo’s Accountable Governance Conference. 

Our mandate was to bring the objective message research and data to the table. We underscored the sector’s greatest communications strengths, identified critical messaging challenges, and shared  a new set of tested recommendations for addressing those challenges. We then invited advocates to join in a room-wide exercise and discussion toward implementing those recommendations in their work. The attendees jumped in, enthusiastically. Building from this energy, ReThink staff led a discussion of how we apply these messaging lessons to 1) the voting rights struggles taking place throughout the South, 2) ensure that communities of color are not shut out of the Census, and 3) make sure that their voices are not diluted through gerrymandering. We also heard from local leaders who paved the way for others in different facets of community empowerment and civic engagement, and took part in powerful and grounding cultural experiences.

“We were totally bowled over by the reception we received,” said Eva Galanes-Rosenbaum, ReThink’s Director of Media and Opinion Analysis. “After concluding our session, we were even honored by a song(!). More importantly, we're leaving Jackson having made a lot of great connections with people and organizations that are hungry for media, messaging, and communications support.”

The group was united in its next steps: Pump it up! 

Training Voting Rights Advocates on Messaging Wins

In May, ReThink released its latest message guide to the voting rights community. Chock full of tips on shifting our framing from defense to offense, and messages that encourage—rather than dissuade—communities to go to the polls, the guide is supported by worksheets to help advocates plan their own communications strategy. 

Along with the guide, ReThink hosted a webinar on shifting the narrative on voting rights, with more than 40 advocates in attendance.

“Well-structured, useful and important,” said Amanda Pescovitz of the Fair Elections Center. “The real-time exercise and examples were also helpful to put the reframes into practice.”


Among the takeaways from participants:

• “Turn the ‘election integrity’ frame around and argue integrity means fair and equal access. Focus messaging on problems with systems, not voters.” – Ryan Snow, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• “Talk about values and ensuring that things work ‘for all of us.’” – Billy Corriher, Institute for Southern Studies
• “[Reframe] messaging on security and access.” – Sandy Sorensen, United Church of Christ
• “Find ways to frame messages to make it more difficult for people/groups to oppose.” – Courtney Accurti, Ceisler Media

Framing Trump’s Emergency Declaration Through the Courts

When President Trump declared a national emergency to fund the border wall in February, ReThink immediately recognized the need and launched a research effort to provide Fair Courts organizations and others with talking points and message framing to underscore how Trump’s declaration was an assault on our constitutional systems. 

We conducted targeted message testing in record time and partnered with democracy-focused groups like Public Citizen, among others. Armed with new data, we briefed dozens of organizations on the most persuasive messages to challenge the declaration. With a particular focus on the separation of powers and the rule of law, we dug into the way different audiences heard these arguments and offered practical suggestions for messaging.

Strengthening Advocates’ Engagement

To ensure that nonprofit advocates can do their most effective work in the lead up to and throughout the 2020 campaign, and once again utilizing our role as a convenor, ReThink Media partnered will Alliance for Justice Bolder Advocacy to offer organizations in the ReThink community a three-part webinar series clarifying the legal lines and distinctions nonprofits need to know in an election year.

The sessions covered lobbying and advocacy for nonprofits, what nonprofits need to know about election-related communications, and social media rules for nonprofits. Nearly 250 advocates attended the webinars.

As one attendee put it, the sessions were “Extremely helpful and concise—[I] feel 100% more comfortable with our activities and the requirements.” 

The sessions have been recorded, in case you were like one participant—who said, “Slow down! I can’t take notes fast enough!”—and couldn’t take notes fast enough, either.