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REPORT: DEMOCRACY FORWARD FIGHTS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC EXTREMISM IN 2023; SCALES FOR IMPACT IN 2024

Annual Impact Report Quantifies Democracy Defense Organization’s Expansion and Impact 

Washington, D.C. –  As efforts to undermine American democracy continued in 2023, a leading democracy defense organization was expanding and amplifying its impact, according to the annual report released today by Democracy Forward. 

The 2023 impact report, 2023: Democracy Forward – The Fight For Democracy Is The Fight for People, which can be found in full here, demonstrates the breadth and depth of the impact Democracy Forward has had across the country and at the federal level in the past year. In 2023 alone, Democracy Forward has increased its work to include more than 370 partnerships with groups representing the very fabric of Americain the fight for a bold, vibrant democracy for all. Its growing roster of clients includes teachers, parents, veterans, voters, businesses, physicians, health care professionals, students, preeminent scholars, and many more. 

“From filing litigation to restore access to essential reproductive healthcare post-Dobbs, to successfully blocking state-based attempts to criminalize librarians and censor books, to holding those who promoted the ‘Big Lie’ and then sought to destroy evidence of their involvement to account, to bringing the power of people and communities to the nation’s highest Court—we were there because the fight for democracy is the fight for people,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. 

A summary of some of the 2023 Democracy Forward Impact Report’s most important findings below. 

  • Democracy Forward’s impact has increased to span 37 states in the past year, and the group has engaged in tough fights in places where it is needed most, from Texas to Ohio to Florida, and all across the country.
  • Democracy Forward brought together more than 300,000 health care professionals to resoundingly affirm in some of the most significant court battles that access to reproductive health care must be protected post-Dobbs. 
  • Democracy Forward represented more than 150,000 teachers and school workers in Florida when far-right extremists attempted to rewrite history and exclude diverse perspectives. The coalition of teachers and school workers is fighting back against Governor DeSantis’ oppressive censorship agenda.
  • Democracy Forward represented organizations comprising more than 250,000 small businesses and their advocates in 2023 seeking to preserve the ability of the government to deliver for everyday people and communities.

Heading into 2024, Democracy Forward remains engaged in more than 75 active legal matters where a wide-ranging scope of issues facing our democracy are at stake. 

“​​As we look ahead to next year, we know our work will be needed more than ever and you will see us in more courts and communities than ever before,” added Perryman. “At this pivotal moment, we’ve got no option but to take on the hardest fights for the American people. And we know that when we fight, democracy wins.”

For more information about Democracy Forward and to read the full 2023 Democracy Forward Impact Report, please visit democracyforward.org/2023-impact-report/. 

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About Democracy Forward 

Founded in 2017 out of an urgent crisis in our democracy, Democracy Forward took the Trump administration to court more than 100 times, winning victories that improved the lives of millions. Through our work, we saw the extremists’ playbook firsthand and learned how to ensure that they don’t write the last chapter of our democracy. In the time since Democracy Forward has scaled our team to address the underlying causes of these generationally defining threats: the highly coordinated, well-funded array of extremist legal organizations that are propping up extremist actors, misusing our courts to roll back rights, and seeking to create a country in their own image, a country that only works for the few, not for all. And we won’t let them win. Find out more at www.democracyforward.org.