NC Center for Voter Education: Election Information & Publicly-Financed Campaigns
Updated September 22, 2009
The North Carolina Center for Voter Education (NCCVE) is a Raleigh, NC-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the quality and responsiveness of North Carolina's election system through public education and research. NCCVE works to inform voters beyond the ballot box by covering state government and politics year round through its biweekly syndicated column, which is published in newspapers across the state, and its online radio station, VoterRadio.com.
Mission
NCCVE’s mission is "to help citizens more fully participate in democracy," which the organization does through efforts to:
- Provide citizens with more information about government and elections so that they may make more informed choices.
- Research & promote solutions for improving our election system.
- Make government more accountable to the public.
- Make the democratic process more accessible for citizens, as voters and as candidates.
History
Since its founding in 1999, NCCVE has been a leading champion of campaign reform and a major source of information on elections and candidates. The organization was a key proponent of the Judicial Campaign Reform Act in 2002, which established public campaign financing for state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals races. NCCVE was also a strong supporter of the Voter-Owned Elections Pilot Program of 2007, which launched public campaign financing for three Council of State races.
In its efforts to propel taxpayer-financed campaigning into the mainstream, NCCVE has produced online and print voter guides, including teaming up with Democracy NC in 2008 to produce voter guides which promoted taxpayer-financed elections and profiled the Judicial and Council of State races engaged in using the public financing system. In an unusual collaboration, the voter guides were distributed by the NC State Board of Elections to registered voters across the state prior to the 2008 election.
Also in 2008, NCCVE partnered with UNC-TV to produce an online voter guide and a series of televised candidate forums. That year the organization also produced its “Judge for Yourself: Election 2008” radio series, featuring in-depth, one-on-one interviews with statewide candidates.
Past board members have included former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan (founding president), Court of Appeals Judge Wanda Bryant and Charlotte Observer journalist Jack Betts. State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin currently serves as the board president.
Programs & Issues
NCCVE’s states that its programs are designed to empower voters to participate fully in local, state and national elections and to continue their involvement as fully engaged citizens.
Go Vote 08
A stand-alone website that provided information on voting in North Carolina's 2008 election, including facts on registering to vote, answers to frequently-asked voting questions and candidate profiles. Will be updated for future elections.
NC Voter Guide
UNC-TV and NCCVE collaborated to create this online resource that provides voters with salient facts on the candidates in the 2008 election, including profiles of statewide, congressional and legislative races. Also included multimedia interviews with the candidates. Will be updated for future elections.
VoterRadio.com
A free online radio station broadcasting 24 hours a day, VoterRadio.com covers politics in North Carolina and beyond, including audio from the N.C. Legislature, The Voter Update weekly newsmagazine and special programming that provides insight and analysis on the issues of the day.
The Better Courts Project
A special initiative soon to be launched, this project, brings citizens and state leaders together to assess ways to enhance North Carolina's courts.
NC Judges
NC Judges supports evenhanded and impartial courts for North Carolina via the state’s ground-breaking program designed to diminish the influence of special-interest contributions in judicial elections. Also provides voters with facts about the candidates running for the state's highest courts.
Follow the Money
Follow the Money is a biweekly column that provides an inside look at Tar Heel politics and how it impacts our lives.
NC Voters for Clean Elections
NCCVE participates in this coalition which aims "to improve the vitality of democracy in North Carolina by enacting a voluntary public financing program for state-level candidates who earn the public's trust." The coalition coordinates lobbying efforts to support the adoption of laws allowing taxpayer-financed campaigns, which they believe will "encourage candidates to reject all special-interest donations and rely solely on voters for their support."
Annual budget
According to NCCVE’s IRS 2007 Form 990, their total annual revenue for that year was $712,321 with total expenses of $622,815. Reported lobbying expenditures totaled $2000 during this period.
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation provides the bulk of NCCVE's financial support, contributing $275,000 to the organization in 2009. Past financial support has come from the Open Society Institute (a George Soros organization), the Carnegie Corporation, the Piper Fund (a charitable collaborative) and the Park Foundation, among others.
Staff & Governance
Damon Circosta serves as NCCVE’s executive director, heading up a staff of two. Circosta served as an attorney and political consultant in Washington D.C., California and Raleigh. He has managed a successful statewide judicial reform campaign under North Carolina's Judicial Campaign Reform Act and has been involved in various other election reform activities.
State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is currently president of a board that is comprised of 20 politically active members, including several lobbyists and sitting or past legislators.
Summary
NCCVE is generally considered to be a left-leaning organization, primarily for its support of taxpayer-financed campaigns. In 2009, NCCVE worked closely with members of the North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections coalition to support legislation that would allow towns and cities to decide for themselves if they wish to establish public campaign financing for their local elections (HB120). The bill passed the House, but stalled in the Senate. The organization also supported a measure to expand the Voter-Owned Elections Pilot from the three Council of State offices currently covered by the program to include up to eight of these offices (HB586), though this proposal never even got a committee hearing.
NCCVE and its allies scored a significant victory in the 2008 election cycle when eleven of the 12 candidates in contested races for the North Carolina Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals qualified for public financing.
In 2009, NCCVE is producing online voter guides for 11 municipalities throughout the state, to be available at NCVoterGuide.org. The voter guides will include candidate profiles and multimedia interviews, along with facts and information on voting in municipal elections.
Finally, it should be noted that Executive Director Damon Circosta skateboards to and from the legislature. It is not clear whether this alternative mode of transportation is an energy-saving measure or merely a personal preference.
Contact
North Carolina Center for Voter Education
3933 Arrow Dr.
Suite 101
Raleigh, N.C. 27612
877.258.6837 (toll-free)
919.783.8811 (local)
919.783.8855 (fax)
info2@ncvotered.com
www.ncvotered.com
