Our Key Takeaways from the 2022 Midterm Elections

Young voters holding up buttons that read, "Vote Democratic".

By

Published

December 12, 2022

Tags

Democracy and Voting Rights
Criminal Justice
Education
Gender and Reproductive Equity
Jewish Community

SUMMARY

Leaders from several of Schusterman’s grantmaking portfolios share their perspectives on the outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections and highlight important takeaways that will inform our U.S. work moving forward.

The 2022 U.S. midterm elections gave voters an opportunity to have a voice in the policies that will shape the future of our communities and country. Americans weighed in on critical issues such as preserving fair and safe elections, protecting access to abortion, advancing criminal justice reform and much more.

The elections ran safely and smoothly—a sign of the strength of our democracy that should be celebrated. We are grateful for the hundreds of thousands of poll workers and election officials who worked hard to ensure every eligible voter could have their voice heard and ballot counted. We are also proud of our many grantee partners across our U.S. portfolios who worked to ensure fair elections—the cornerstone of a healthy and inclusive democracy—expand voter participation and support more just and equitable policies. We will continue to work alongside them and support their work on these issues.

The power of individuals and organizations coming together to ensure the wellbeing of our society and the integrity of our democracy makes us hopeful for our country’s future. Here we share our key takeaways from the election outcomes—and the work we have left to accomplish together.

Democracy was on the ballot

From David Weil, Co-President

Protecting democracy and our freedoms were on the ballot this year, and it was clear that voters prioritized free and fair elections, and an inclusive, representative democracy. Young people and historically marginalized people of color turned out to cast their ballot in key races, demonstrating broad civic engagement with our democratic institutions.

Our team is grateful for the hard work of our grantees that contributed to these wins. Organizations like Democracy Docket, Fair Fight Action, Protect Democracy and many more worked for months to protect voting rights, encourage voter participation, prepare poll workers and local election officials, and prevent threats to our democracy.

While these wins are important for the future of our country, threats to our democracy still exist. Numerous election deniers were elected or re-elected to office, and litigation continues across the country over our right to vote and have our votes counted.

We are committed to supporting our grantees in their continued efforts to build a broad pro-democracy coalition that engages communities in civic and electoral organizing and pushes for essential reforms. This includes ensuring that elections continue to be administered fairly and that all votes cast are counted. It also means putting an end to gerrymandering and the outdated Electoral College, as well as passing the Electoral Count Act, so that the rules governing our democratic processes create equitable access and representation.

Explore how we help preserve democracy and voting rights

Abortion access won

From Brook Kelly-Green, Senior Director of Gender and Reproductive Equity Grantmaking

Protecting women’s rights, particularly abortion rights, was a driving force for voter turnout in this election, rivaling concerns about inflation and eclipsing the economy as the most motivating issue for many voters, and particularly for young people. In all the places where abortion was on the ballot, voters protected access.

Beyond races that were explicitly about abortion, we saw victories for ballot initiatives that supported gender equity broadly with a focus on the care economy and economic justice. In New Mexico, for instance, voters elected to increase funding for early childhood education and childcare significantly. And in Washington D.C., voters chose to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, a majority of whom are women, which had previously been far below the minimum wage of other sectors. Across the country, voters elected people of color, LGBTQI and gender-expansive candidates to office.

There is good reason for these successes. Voters know that laws and policies that support freedom and equity also support a strong economy—and the people most committed and able to bring about these changes are members of communities that directly experience ongoing inequalities.

While we celebrate these results and the work of our grantees, we know that freedom and equity remain under attack writ large. We remain deeply committed to continuing to work alongside our grantees to advance gender and reproductive equity.

We are grateful to our many Gender and Reproductive Equity grantees—including Protect Kentucky Access, Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All, Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC)—that led the way. We also celebrate the groups that did the essential work of mobilizing their communities, especially women and young people to vote—including Unite for Gender and Reproductive Equity (URGE), Care in Action and Moms Rising.

Learn about our commitment to gender and reproductive equity

Young people and historically marginalized people of color turned out to cast their ballot in key races, demonstrating broad civic engagement with our democratic institutions.

Voters supported criminal justice reform

From Nancy Fishman, Senior Director of Criminal Justice Grantmaking

Criminal justice reform measures did well in this election cycle, demonstrating that voters understand the necessity for reform and do not support ‘tough on crime’ policies that merely expand a broken and unjust system.

We are thrilled that reform-minded prosecutors and sheriffs in several states committed to addressing incarceration won election or re-election. Many states and counties voted to decriminalize marijuana—a key driver of mass incarceration—and three states passed constitutional amendments prohibiting involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

Lessons learned from the successes of this election will bolster successes in the next. While exit polls showed that voters rightfully care about safety, they respond to solutions—not false narratives and scapegoating. And we do have solutions, thanks to the brilliant work of our grantees, who show daily that community violence interventions and restorative justice are far more effective and affordable than mass incarceration.

We know that these successes are the results of widespread efforts at the local and national level. We are grateful to grantees like the Drug Policy Alliance, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities, Local Progress, ASJ Action Fund, Vera Action Fund, Smart Justice and others for moving these efforts forward. We remain deeply supportive of our grantees working to advance racial equity, end mass incarceration, and ensure that all people feel safe and secure where they live.

Read about our efforts to advance criminal justice

Book and curriculum bans failed in multiple states

From Julie Mikuta, Co-President

Education is a cornerstone of our democracy. Our elected leaders play a key role in determining how we ensure all students can access an excellent education that prepares them to engage as committed citizens and leaders. In this election, we saw that many candidates who campaigned on book and curriculum bans failed in multiple states—a strong sign that people want to keep politics out of our classrooms.

As schools grapple with unprecedented learning loss related to the pandemic, newly elected leaders should focus on effective approaches to long-term learning recovery. The future of our democracy depends on delivering an excellent education today. This means an education that is engaging, affirming and appropriate to grade level. It means an education that features peoples, places and perspectives that reflect the true history and diversity our country. It means an education that teaches students how to engage meaningfully with those who are different from them, to be proud of the progress our country has made, and to continue the work of building a more perfect nation.

We are proud to support organizations like Educators for Excellence, EdTrust, Stand for Children, National Parents Union, NYU Metro Center and Communities for Just Schools Fund. These partners are working with parents, students, community members, educators and school board members who reject bans on books and ideas and want schools to provide an affirming and engaging education for all students, inclusive of race, ZIP code and socioeconomic status.

Discover our education work

Jewish communities mobilized

From David Rittberg, Senior Director of U.S. Jewish Grantmaking

Jewish values and the safety and wellbeing of our community require us to engage actively with our civic and democratic processes. We lived up to this calling in the midterm elections, as we saw the Jewish community turn out and engage in inspiring numbers.

We are proud that many grantees in our U.S. Jewish portfolio, including Repair the World, Hillel International and A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy, energized a diverse array of Jews—particularly young Jews—to mobilize their communities to vote and serve as nonpartisan poll workers. These efforts helped to support free and fair elections and ensure as many people as possible could exercise their right to vote, embodying the Jewish values of hitchazkut (strengthening one another) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).

In the face of spiking antisemitism, Jews overwhelmingly voted for candidates who uphold a vision of an inclusive, multicultural democracy that protects the rights of its diverse citizens. We know that the safety and freedom of our community and many communities depend on us realizing this vision. We will continue to support our partners who are leading efforts to ensure Jews participate actively in our democracy and do our part to contribute to a just and inclusive society.

Find out about our work shaping vibrant and inclusive Jewish communities

While the road ahead remains steep, the wins we saw in this election make us optimistic that with equitable representation and inclusion in our democratic process, together we can bring about meaningful, lasting change.

We remain committed to supporting our partners’ efforts to build more just and inclusive societies and ensure the U.S. lives up to its democratic ideals.