Civic education is essential to an informed and participatory democracy. That is why Voters Ed Fund launched a new program that will focus on providing basic and intermediate adult civic education to communities, enabling them to learn about and effectively interact with their local government.

In 2023, Democracy Academy designed courses tailored for the residents of specific municipalities on the ways their municipal government operates and how to make effective change. We established partnerships with local community organizations to present in 5 municipalities–Kalamazoo, Warren, Monroe, Marquette, and Lansing.

Democracy Academy’s first class, “Making the Case for GOTV in Local Elections,” seeks to increase voter participation at the local level.

Democracy begins at the local level, but many voters are not making their voices heard. Local elections in the odd years barely reach more than 20% voter participation. Our classroom-style workshop focuses on 4 key topics: how our current system encourages low turnout at the local level, the consequences of low voter participation, our recommended techniques to create positive change, and how to encourage others to make local elections a priority.