Update on Midterm Voting Rights, Voting Protection, and Civil Rights Resources
September 28, 2026
In the face of the urgency of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections and the not so far off 2028 presidential elections, there are a substantial number of national organizations working on voting rights, election protection, voter mobilization, election administration, litigation, and voting-policy research on a national and local level.
NASW and social workers in general - along with many other Americans - are deeply concerned about the direction of the current Congress White House. For that reason, they may seek to become individually engaged in one or more aspects of voting mobilizations and voting rights.
To aid social workers and others who are interested in actively participating in the voting process— on a national or local level— we have developed the following compendium of organizations that are leading voices and strategists advocating for free and fair elections on issues such as voter protection, voting rights litigators, voter mobilization, and voting-related policy/researchers. The list is categorized, so keep in mind that some of the organizations work on multiple issues and therefore may be included in multiple categories.
Core National Voting-Rights and Voter-Protection Organizations
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — One of the most important organizations to watch. Its Voting Rights Project litigates voting discrimination, redistricting, voter intimidation, voter-roll and ballot-access cases. It also leads the national Election Protection program and the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. The Election Protection coalition now includes more than 300 national, state, and local partners.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) — Particularly important for the intersection of race, redistricting, Black political representation and the Voting Rights Act. LDF combines litigation, policy advocacy and research and has historically been one of the central institutional defenders of Black voting rights.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — The ACLU Voting Rights Project combines major litigation with state-level advocacy through its nationwide affiliate network. It is especially significant in 2026: the ACLU announced a $24.5 million midterm election-safeguarding initiative, including litigation, poll monitoring, Know Your Rights programs and voter mobilization.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) — Major litigation and policy organization dealing with voting rights, redistricting, election administration, campaign finance and political participation.
Fair Elections Center — National voting-rights organization emphasizing litigation, voter access, election administration and programs supporting election protection.
Common Cause — National democracy-reform organization working on voting rights, redistricting, election administration, money in politics and government accountability. It is also an important participant in Election Protection and grassroots poll-monitoring efforts.
Advancement Project — Civil-rights organization whose voting work emphasizes racial justice, voter suppression and grassroots/community-centered approaches to protecting political participation.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — Particularly significant because it is a coalition organization rather than simply another voting-rights group. It coordinates a very large civil-rights network on voting-rights legislation, Voting Rights Act restoration, election policy and federal advocacy.
National Voter-Registration and Mobilization Organizations
America Votes — One of the major coordinating organizations in the progressive electoral infrastructure. It works with partner organizations on voter engagement, turnout and coordination.
APIAVote — Major national organization focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander civic engagement and voter participation; also involved in multilingual Election Protection assistance.
Black Voters Matter — Particularly important for understanding Black voter mobilization in the South. Its model emphasizes grassroots organizing, local organizations, voter engagement and building Black political power rather than simply Election Day turnout.
Movement Voter Project — Supports grassroots organizations doing voter mobilization and long-term movement building, especially among communities of color, young voters and other progressive constituencies.
NALEO Educational Fund — Major nonpartisan Latino civic-participation organization. It also administers the 888-VE-Y-VOTA voter-assistance hotline as part of Election Protection.
Rock the Vote — Long-established national voter-registration and civic-engagement organization with a particularly strong focus on younger voters.
National Voter Registration Day- National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy. Since its kickoff in 2012, the holiday and its team of thousands of partners have worked to get over 6.5 million Americans registered to vote in time for their next trip to the ballot box.
Celebrated each September, National Voter Registration Day involves dedicated partners of every stripe from all over the country hitting the streets for a single star-spangled awesome day of coordinated field, digital, and media action focused squarely on growing our shared democracy.
State Voices — National network supporting state-based civic-engagement coalitions. It is particularly important because it connects national strategy to organizations actually operating on the ground. State Voices is also participating directly in the 2026 Election Protection campaign.
Vot-ER- Vot-ER is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to integrate civic engagement into healthcare. Vot-ER develops nonpartisan civic engagement tools and programs for every corner of the healthcare system—from private practitioners to medical schools to hospitals.
Large Civil-Rights Organizations with Substantial Voting Programs
The principal strength of these organizations is building participation and turnout, often among populations historically underrepresented in elections.
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) - LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the United States. LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 535 local LULAC councils nationwide. The organization involves and serves all Hispanic nationality groups.
NAACP — Voting rights, voter mobilization, redistricting and Black political participation remain major components of its work. It is actively participating in the 2026 Election Protection effort.
National Urban League — Civic engagement and voting access are part of its broader racial-equity mission. In July 2026, it announced a partnership with the Lawyers' Committee and National Bar Association to recruit and train voter-protection volunteers and legal monitors for the midterms.
National Action Network — Civil-rights advocacy and mobilization organization with substantial voting-rights and voter-engagement activity.
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation — Longstanding organization focused specifically on increasing Black civic participation and political engagement.
National Council of Negro Women — Broader civil-rights organization with civic engagement and voting initiatives, particularly concerning Black women.
Voto Latino — Major Latino voter-registration and mobilization organization combining voter registration, civic education, digital organizing and advocacy.
Organizations for Policy Information, Legal Analysis and Research Data
Brennan Center for Justice — Probably the single most useful organization for election related research.. It sits at the intersection of a think tank, law center and advocacy organization. Its work covers voter suppression, racial turnout disparities, voter purges, election administration, redistricting, election interference, federal election authority and threats to democratic institutions. The Brennan Center is actively publishing 2026 material on voter intimidation and federal interference with elections.
Center for American Progress — Broader progressive policy think tank, but produces research on voting rights, democracy, racial equity, representation, courts and election policy.
Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD)- DFAD includes groups from the labor, racial justice, faith, women’s rights, environmental, good government, and many other important communities. Formed in 2018, the coalition set out on a mission to take back our democracy and restore power to the people. Believes that we must build a democracy where everyone participates, every vote is counted, and everyone’s voice is heard.
Democracy Docket- Democracy Docket's mission is to inform the public about voting rights, elections, and democracy-related legal battles while advocating for the protection and strengthening of American democracy.
Democracy Fund — Research and grant-making organization focused on elections, democratic institutions, civic participation, election administration and related democracy issues.
Demos — Progressive policy and advocacy organization particularly useful for connecting democracy, race, economic inequality and political power. This makes Demos especially relevant when examining voting suppression as a racial- and economic-equity issue.
Protect Democracy — Especially useful where voting rights intersect with authoritarianism, abuse of executive power, election subversion, political violence and democratic institutions. It combines litigation, research and policy analysis.
States United Democracy Center — Particularly valuable for research involving election subversion, election certification, threats against election officials and state-level attempts to overturn or interfere with election outcomes.
Summary
Motivated by a common sense of urgency about the 2026 midterms, many of the leading voting rights organizations formed a network that functions in close collaboration. For example, in 2026, the Election Protection Coalition launched a campaign in response to growing threats involving racial vote dilution, voter-roll purges, voter intimidation and election denial. Strategically , Election Protection was joined by Lawyers' Committee, NAACP, Common Cause, State Voices and NALEO, among others — forming a powerful network. At the same time, the ACLU has initiated its midterm election-safeguarding effort, identifying 25 categories of possible threats to voting access, election administration and certification.
The collaboration between both efforts essentially became a national voting-rights/election-protection network for the 2026 midterms —rather than organizations working independently. Because of the inter-organizational planning and actions, there are many opportunities for committed individuals and groups at the state and local level to contribute meaningfully to these pro-democracy voting rights mobilizations.