EXC: Democrat Voting Registration Group Takes Foreign Money To 'Change The Outcome' Of U.S. Elections Against Republicans

Just $94 can buy a vote to help beat Trump.

Natalie Winters

Jul 08, 2026

Documents reviewed exclusively by this publication reveal an elaborate foreign effort to raise millions of dollars for a targeted voter-mobilization operation capable of “chang[ing] the outcomes of national elections” in the United States.

The previously unreported records show that Power for Democracies, a Berlin-based organization, has built a detailed system for evaluating which American nonprofits can most efficiently convert donor money into voter registrations, turnout and political power. After examining more than 100 civil-society organizations, it selected Freedom2Vote as one of the most effective vehicles for influencing the 2026 midterm elections.

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Power for Democracies is now steering both American and foreign donors toward the organization, which is seeking approximately $19 million to target potential voters across as many as 14 decisive states.

Its own evaluation projects that the fully funded operation would register more than 350,000 Americans and generate over 200,000 additional votes in “pivotal House and Senate races.”

The operation is not merely aimed at encouraging generic civic participation. Power for Democracies explicitly presents Freedom2Vote as a way to check what it calls “authoritarianism” under President Donald Trump, shift control of Congress during the 2026 midterms and create a newly registered voter base that can be mobilized again in the 2028 presidential election.

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The foreign fundraising pitch contains the smoking-gun admission:

“A non-partisan organisation under US tax law, Freedom2Vote maintains neutral language and content in its outreach to ensure compliance. It can receive funds from both US and foreign donors.”

But Freedom2Vote’s operation is built with Civitech, an explicitly partisan Democratic political-technology firm led by a former Hillary Clinton campaign official.

Civitech openly markets a proprietary database of unregistered likely Democratic voters. Its political products are designed to identify people likely to support progressive candidates while “minimiz[ing] unintended Republican registrations.”

The company has donated directly to Democratic Party organizations, worked with Democratic state parties and partnered with an official Democratic National Committee organization.

The documents reveal a foreign-solicited, tax-deductible American voter operation being marketed to donors as a measurable way to produce hundreds of thousands of votes in decisive federal elections, using technology supplied by a company devoted to expanding the Democratic voter base.

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>EXC: Democrat Voting Registration Group Takes Foreign Money To 'Change The Outcome' Of U.S. Elections Against Republicans

>Just $94 can buy a vote to help beat Trump

“Change The Outcomes Of National Elections”

Power for Democracies does not hide the intended impact of its American operation.

Its February 2026 report states:

“Power for Democracies is actively engaging with civil society organisations (CSOs) to identify the most cost-effective initiatives.”

The report continues:

“We are currently recommending Freedom2Vote, a non-profit organisation that can receive funds from both US and foreign donors.”

Power for Democracies then makes the electoral objective unmistakable:

“The effects are large enough to enable voter mobilisation CSOs to change the outcomes of national elections.”

The documents reviewed by this publication show exactly how Power for Democracies reached that conclusion.

The Berlin organization has developed a formal process to identify, assess and recommend civil-society organizations to major donors. It uses expert interviews, data requests, financial reviews and internal scoring systems to determine which groups can produce the greatest measurable impact for each dollar donated.

Power for Democracies says it has assessed 131 civil-society organizations across four countries.

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Pricing The Cost Of An American Vote

Power for Democracies’ confidential-style evaluation describes Freedom2Vote as an unusually measurable political intervention.

The document states:

“At a time when liberal democracy in the United States is experiencing an unprecedented erosion, Freedom2Vote’s approach to checking authoritarianism through targeted voter mobilisation is one of the most rigorously tested and cost-effective interventions in the civic space.”

It continues:

“The organisation has demonstrated excellent results in increasing voter registration, which have been measured and replicated across multiple election cycles.”

Power for Democracies claims Freedom2Vote’s 2024 presidential-election program produced a 3.72 percentage-point increase in voter registration and a 2.14 percentage-point increase in turnout among the people it targeted.

According to the evaluation:

“This translates to approximately 280,000 new registrations and about 160,000 additional votes nationwide.”

The foreign organization then places a precise price on those outcomes:

“Its programme for the 2024 elections achieved a cost per net voter registration of approximately $54 and a cost per net vote of around $94.”

Because newly registered voters remain on the voter rolls and can participate in later elections, Power for Democracies argues that the long-term cost per additional vote falls even further.

The implication is clear. Freedom2Vote is being presented to donors not simply as a charitable civic organization, but as a tested mechanism for converting money into measurable votes.

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A $19 Million Midterm Operation

The 2026 program is substantially larger.

Power for Democracies writes:

“Freedom2Vote’s programme for the 2026 mid-term elections builds on this evidence base, with projections that, with full funding, its planned $19 million effort would register over 350,000 voters and generate more than 200,000 additional votes in pivotal House and Senate races.”

This is the core of the operation.

The foreign group is not discussing a broad, nationwide public-awareness campaign. It is explicitly measuring success by how many additional votes can be produced in the congressional contests that will determine control of the House and Senate.

Elsewhere in the same document, Power for Democracies estimates that the operation could generate approximately 250,000 additional votes, creating an unexplained discrepancy in its projections.

Its budget section states:

“Freedom2Vote’s projected 2025–2026 programme budget totals approximately $19 million, $4-5 million of which has been secured from existing supporters, leaving an unmet need of approximately $14–15 million.”

The document then explains why the outstanding money is politically significant:

“This funding gap represents the difference between a very limited rollout and a fully scaled national programme reaching potential voters in 12–14 decisive states.”

Power for Democracies does not identify those states publicly.

It also does not name the donors behind the $4 million to $5 million that it says has already been secured.

Targeting The Democratic Coalition’s “Hidden” Voters

Freedom2Vote begins by searching thousands of public-data sources for Americans who are eligible to vote but remain unregistered.

According to the evaluation, it initially focuses on three categories: people who recently turned 18, people who recently moved and people who have returned from incarceration.

The organization then narrows the pool.

Power for Democracies writes:

“Freedom2Vote then analyses all the available data to target marginalised voters (especially young as well as racial and ethnic minority voters) and facilitates their registration process.”

The document continues:

“It mails nearly completed registration forms and return envelopes directly to eligible citizens in key states and districts. Follow-up communications provide reminders and assistance to ensure completion.”

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This is not passive voter education.

Freedom2Vote identifies selected individuals, sends them nearly completed forms and follows up until the registration process is finished.

Power for Democracies says the largest effects have occurred among core Democratic constituencies:

“The largest gains from Freedom2Vote’s programme have been observed with underserved Black and Latino audiences, though impacts have been consistently positive with all relevant subgroups.”

That tactic closely resembles the proprietary system marketed by Civitech, the Democratic political-technology company operating alongside Freedom2Vote.

The Civitech Database

Civitech says it maintains one of the country’s largest databases of eligible but unregistered Americans.

The company combines public records, commercial information and political modeling to locate people who do not appear on conventional voter files. It then assigns partisan and behavioral scores estimating whether those individuals are likely to support Democratic and progressive candidates.

Civitech has publicly advertised its ability to find likely Democratic voters overlooked by traditional campaign infrastructure.

The company warns progressive clients that ordinary registration drives may also register Republicans.

“Nobody wants that!” its marketing materials declare.

Civitech says its partisan targeting system “minimizes unintended Republican registrations.”

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Its sales materials ask whether the program is partisan and answer: “Yes.”

The Hillary Clinton Operative Behind The Operation

Civitech’s founder and chief executive, Jeremy Smith, previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Smith served in Florida as a deputy director of voter protection, working on voter registration, voter assistance and election-related operations for Clinton’s campaign.

He later co-founded Civitech as a political-technology company serving Democratic and progressive organizations.

Civitech describes itself as supporting Democratic candidates and progressive movements. Following the 2024 election, the company said it would continue to “champion progressive causes” under the Trump administration.

Its client and partner materials have displayed an extensive roster of Democratic organizations, including the Michigan Democratic Party, Florida Democratic Party, Wisconsin Democratic Party, Texas Democratic Party and Democratic Attorneys General Association.

The company has also worked with progressive organizations and Democratic candidates, including Indivisible and campaigns associated with prominent Democrats.

Civitech is therefore not a politically neutral data vendor that happens to service clients from across the ideological spectrum.

Its stated mission is to strengthen Democratic and progressive political power.

Direct Financial Ties To Democratic Politics

Civitech’s political ties are not limited to rhetoric or personnel.

An official Texas Ethics Commission filing records a $20,000 corporate contribution from Civitech to the Texas Democratic Party in July 2025.

New York campaign-finance records also show the New York State Democratic Committee paying Civitech more than $100,000 during the 2026 election cycle, according to an aggregation of state filings.

Civitech has additionally contributed $30,000 to Democratic Municipal Officials and sits on the organization’s advisory board.

Democratic Municipal Officials describes itself as the official Democratic National Committee organization representing Democratic mayors, council members and other local officials. It holds three seats on the Democratic National Committee.

That creates a direct institutional link between the company behind Freedom2Vote and the DNC’s official local-officials organization.

The firm involved in this supposedly nonpartisan, foreign-eligible voter project is therefore financially supporting Democratic Party entities, receiving money from Democratic committees and providing political technology to Democratic organizations.

The “Authoritarian” Is Donald Trump

Power for Democracies repeatedly describes Freedom2Vote as an intervention against authoritarianism.

Its documents leave little doubt that the word is being used as a euphemism for Donald Trump and the political movement surrounding him.

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The evaluation states:

“The country is now experiencing rapid democratic backsliding under the second administration of President Donald Trump and facing potentially existential risks due to executive overreach, threats to free and fair elections, persecution of political opponents, defied court orders, and domestic deployment of the US military, among other authoritarian moves.”

Its broader country report describes the 2026 midterms as an opportunity for the opposition to capture the House or Senate, check Trump’s executive authority and improve the political conditions surrounding the 2028 presidential election.

The report says congressional power could be used to investigate the administration, control spending, block appointments and obstruct Trump’s agenda.

The organization’s medium-term objective is for so-called non-authoritarian actors to regain control of the federal government in 2028.

Foreigners Are Told They Have A Stake In American Political Power

Power for Democracies openly argues that foreign donors have a legitimate interest in determining which political forces control the United States.

Its country report states:

“Given the role the United States plays in guaranteeing the security of many other democracies, it is not only the future of democracy in the United States that is at stake, but the future of democracy around the world.”

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The report continues:

“The world’s ability to address large-scale challenges such as climate change, global poverty, and risks from Artificial Intelligence (AI) strongly depends on the stances and actions of the United States as well.”

Power for Democracies therefore frames control over the American government as an international issue, not merely a decision for American voters.

The group writes that:

“Reducing the likelihood that US foreign policy undermines democracies, supports autocrats, or supports and commits mass atrocities is crucial, and depends upon who wields power across the branches of the US government.”

That line exposes the underlying theory of the operation.

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Foreign donors are being told that control of the American presidency and Congress affects their policy interests, including climate change, foreign aid, artificial intelligence and international security. Power for Democracies then recommends a nonprofit capable of generating hundreds of thousands of votes in the races that determine that control.

The report is also openly hostile to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development and reductions in other foreign-aid programs.

The Real Objective Is 2028

The 2026 midterms are only the first stage of Power for Democracies’ American strategy.

The organization repeatedly emphasizes that the voters registered during the midterms will remain on the rolls and can be mobilized again in the next presidential election.

Its recommendation says Freedom2Vote’s 2026 registrations are expected to produce positive turnout effects in 2028.

The evaluation treats voter registration as a compounding political investment. Unlike a television advertisement or temporary field office, each newly registered voter can be contacted and mobilized during multiple election cycles.

Those individuals also become visible to other political organizations once they appear on voter files.

Power for Democracies’ broader strategy identifies 2028 as the point at which so-called non-authoritarian political forces must regain control of the presidency.

The near-term objective is to win the House or Senate in 2026, restrict Trump’s power and create more favorable conditions for the next presidential election.

The longer-term objective is to build an electorate capable of defeating Trump’s movement after his term ends.

Freedom2Vote is designed to serve both phases.

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/exc-democrat-voting-registration

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Power for Democracies is funded by unconditional grants and donations from independent individuals and small family foundations across Germany and Switzerland FAQs - Power for Democracies.

Specifically, the organization was originally backed by a group of four initial clients of legacies.now, an effective altruism-aligned philanthropic advisory in Munich Knowledge & Research Team | Power For Democracies. The founders themselves—Stephan Schwahlen and Stefan Shaw—also come from the German effective altruism and donation platform effektiv-spenden.org.

To learn more about their evaluation framework or how to support them, check out the Power for Democracies Research page.

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Introducing the Effektiv Spenden "Defending Democracy" fund

Sebastian Schienle

Stephan Schwahlen

Sebastian Schienle, Stephan Schwahlen

2 min read·Feb 7, 2024

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6 more

On January 10, the media platform CORRECTIV published a report on a secret far-right meeting in Germany in November 2023. The report could mark a turning point. Since then, more than 2 million people have taken part in demonstrations against the extreme right and in defense of our democracy, making them some of the largest demonstrations in Germany in recent decades.

At Effektiv Spenden, we have long considered the defense and promotion of democracy to be an important cause area. And it has also received some (limited) attention in other parts of the EA community - see related materials e.g., from 80,000 hours (related topics here and here), Rethink Priorities; Founders Pledge; Open Philanthropy; EIP (via its focus on institutional decision-making); and forum posts here and here. However, a systematic mapping and - more importantly - evaluation of interventions is currently lacking, making it difficult to develop recommendations for effective giving.With the generous support of some of our donors, we have therefore helped to launch a new charity evaluator, Power for Democracies,to fill this gap.

To respond to the current surge of interest and momentum among both the general public in Germany and our donors, we feel a responsibility to share our initial findings - with all their limitations - in order to guide donors interested in supporting promising interventions that can make a difference in the short term in the specific German context. Therefore, we have launched a new fund called "Defending Democracy" on effektiv-spenden.org.

Despite the speculative nature of our recommendations and fund allocations, we believe we can:

Guide donors who are already committed to supporting this cause area to achieve significantly greater impact.

Encourage those (potential) donors who are interested in the cause area but have been reluctant to give due to the apparent lack of research and evidence-based recommendations.

Use the current momentum to introduce more donors to the concept of effective giving, and thereby create more effective giving overall.

However, we also see potential downside risks that could reduce our overall impact:

A dilution of the concept of effective giving overall by introducing a new cause area that is less well researched and currently more speculative. Low risk: While our understanding of the comparative impact of individual interventions is still limited, the literature is fairly clear on the critical importance of well-functioning democracies for maximizing key societal outcomes such as health and development, peace and security, scientific progress, or economic development. In addition, we launched the new fund as a "beta" version to help our donors understand the increased uncertainty.

A shift in donations from better-researched cause areas and interventions to our more speculative Democracy Fund. Medium risk: We expect the “beta” label to mitigate this risk as well. In addition, we explicitly communicate to our existing donors (e.g. through our newsletter) that we recommend the new fund only for additional donations and discourage the reallocation of existing or planned commitments.

Overall, we expect the benefits of the new fund to outweigh the potential risks. However, we will closely monitor if/how our new offering may divert funds from other cause areas and will continually reevaluate the need to make potential adjustments. (Including closing the fund if necessary).

If you have any questions or comments about the new fund, please feel free to contact us directly at info@effektiv-spenden.org. Similarly, if you are interested in exploring major giving to strengthen democracy internationally(and particularly in the U.S.), please also reach out to discuss if/how we might be able to assist you

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/RRDAzpi6vS8ARvsDF/introducing-the-effektiv-spenden-defending-democracy-fund