About Us
Democracy Rising partners with communities to imagine, test, and prove what real democracy looks like. We connect visionary leaders and pragmatic problem-solvers, helping them dream boldly, plan together, and get it done.
Mission
Without a vision for the future, the United States will continue to tumble towards autocracy. Democracy Rising fosters the wisdom and dreams of everyday leaders—our neighbors, elders, newcomers, and youth – to show us what a representative democracy can look like and how our communities will get us there.
Combining policy expertise, community organizing and a far-reaching network of local leaders, Democracy Rising helps civic leaders transform our democracy. Led by Maria Perez and Grace Ramsey, Democracy Rising lays the groundwork for change by fostering local leadership, embedding best practices into the next generation, and proving that reforms work in real life.
At Democracy Rising, we aren’t fighting for the democracy we had – we’re fostering imagination and providing the roadmap to turn dreams of representative democracy into practice.
Leadership and Staff
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Advisory Board
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Annual Reports
Democracy Rising’s annual reports reflect our ongoing commitment to building a multi-racial, representative democracy—and celebrate the leaders and local movements making that future real.
Explore our annual reports to see what we’ve built together over the past year and where we’re headed next.
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Coming soon: 2025 Democracy Rising Annual Report
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2024 Democracy Rising Annual Report - we need this document to add it here.
FAQs
Have questions? We’re here to help. Explore our FAQs to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how you can get involved.
Are you advocating for ranked choice voting?
We are here to help leaders make changes that work for their community.
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We trust communities to identify the problems they would like to solve and work with them on policies to reimagine and transform their democracy. This can take many different shapes and we do not believe one reform can solve all problems.
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Ranked choice voting is only one tool a community may use to create a more democratic society.
Are you trying to elect Democrats?
Absolutely not. Democracy Rising works with all people ready to reimagine and innovate for a better democracy that represents all of us.
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We are operating within a form of democracy that is broken: no two party system or one party can fix this problem. It must come from the people.
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Change is a vital disruptor to building a more representational democracy and that means disrupting across party lines: to build a better future, we must break the norms and standards held by both parties and the two party system.
Are you an advocacy organization?
Democracy Rising partners with organizations and community leaders who are in the process of reimagining their democracy – we support their vision.
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When we team up with a community, we don’t come with a policy agenda. Instead, we enter open minded: ready to support the community in finding the solutions that work for them.