The ACLU Is Doing What The Government Will Not: Defending Your Right To Vote

Non-profit organizations and political movements are often so laser-focused on their goals, they fail to see the importance of process and the best path forward. Even fewer have a talented team of brand-builders on the job. Thankfully, the ACLU is the exception to this rule.

According to Fast Company, the ACLU’s product development team is mobilizing The Resistance using data visualization, sticky design, and an open-source data infrastructure that puts privacy first.

Be A Voter

The article points to Voter, a new tool from ACLU which highlights local elections. It also includes an effort to provide scorecards for Congress members that rate each person based on how their voting record aligns with the ACLU’s positions.

I just pledged to vote like my rights depend on it. Join me and become an #ACLUVoter today: https://t.co/ISaFxi7MeW

— David Burn (@davidburn) August 5, 2018

Voter is a great microsite that can serve as a new model for other organizations and brands to follow. It’s hyperlocal and ultra relevant, it’s interactive and interesting, perfectly designed and highly shareable.

Know Your District

The data visualization tool from ACLU called What the District?! provides a visual history of how congressional district lines have been drawn over the last 50 or so years. You plug in your address, and as you scroll, the district outlines on the map morph before your eyes, revealing just how arbitrarily the lines are drawn.

The way our districts are drawn matters—for better or worse. My district has changed 15 times since 1959. Now look up yours: https://t.co/mvUCmH01wk

— David Burn (@davidburn) August 5, 2018

“Since 2016, we’ve gotten very good at social and our brand is strong and we’re reaching people through that,” says Brett Camper, the head of the product development team who worked on What the District?!. “But… data viz and interactive tools help you from an educational perspective: what is this issue, what is it about, how does it relate to me.”

The ACLU is also working with its 50-plus local affiliate offices to make the platform even more localized. Affiliates will be able to tell the product team which races they’re following so they can be added to the platform.

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