GUIDE: for Democracy Dinner hosts

General Info:

Why Is This Movement Growing & What Are We About?

The Democracy Dinners movement is based on the idea that maintaining a healthy and vital democracy

requires continual re-commitment to core principles. Those cherished principles include free and fair

elections, active participation of the citizenry, protection of civil rights, and equal application of the law to

all citizens. Unfortunately, democracy in America is currently under serious assault by those who seek to

manipulate the institutions and norms of democracy, weaken its systemic foundations, and discourage or

block the participation of many in elections that define democracy. Things have gotten so bad that

two-thirds of Americans believe democracy is under threat (PBS Newshour/NPR/Marist poll, 2021).

We in this movement understand that throughout history, positive change so often has been achieved by

thoughtful people gathering over a good meal in the name of a worthy, shared cause. Our cause is

safeguarding democracy. In practical terms—both via a national movement of volunteer-hosted dinners

across America and through the features on our website—we encourage meaningful conversations about

the threats to democracy; provide opportunities for people to commit to protecting democracy; and

facilitate the process of voter registration.

Why Does Voter Registration (& Voter Turnout) Matter?

The most impactful way to safeguard democracy is the act of voting. In some US states, around half of the

eligible citizens are not registered to vote, and even in the most registered states, approximately one out of

five citizens are unregistered (US Census Bureau). And many who are registered never even bother to

vote. In midterm elections (such as the upcoming elections in November 2022), usually, only about 40%

of Americans vote. And, at a time when many states are trying to make it much more difficult to register

and vote, efforts to motivate and register more people are more crucial than ever. Although, as a

nonpartisan organization we do not advocate for any party or candidate, we do hope that the US Midterm

Congressional Elections help ensure that pro-democracy representatives are in power to safeguard

democracy. Large-scale voter registration and voter turnout support will help democracy at this precarious time. And you can be part of that crucial effort.

Hosting a Democracy Dinner:

The Democracy Dinners' “Walk-A-Thon” Model:

We understand that you may live in a solid red or blue congressional district and do not want to focus

your attention on voter registration if you feel you cannot influence your fellow voters. If this is the case

for you and your Democracy Dinner, please focus on fundraising, allowing for Democracy Dinners to

target voter registration and turnout in crucial swing states and congressional districts. Through email, texting, or a phone

call/zoom, we can help you navigate which model would be best for your location.

For Voter Registration/Turnout:

Your personalized website (generated via our partnership with Vote.org, the nation’s largest voter

registration technology platform) will allow you to easily invite friends, family, and others to check their

own registration status, request absentee/mail-in ballots, and register to vote. Additionally, this website will enable us to

identify and keep track of those you have targeted to invite to register. Similar to a “walk-a-thon” approach... except that

instead of walking X miles, you’ll be seeking to register (or make sure to vote) X voters.

For Fundraising:

Similar to our voter registration efforts, we will help you track your fundraising efforts through your own

fundraiser website. Rest assured, the money you raise will directly help Democracy Dinners’ grassroots

organization within swing congressional districts and states for important U.S. elections. For the

upcoming Midterm Elections, Democracy Dinners’ fundraising will help voter registration throughout

crucial swing states and congressional districts.

Inviting People:

If you are wondering where to find people to invite to your dinners look no further! Two of the most

popular event signup platforms are Facebook and Eventbrite. See sample Facebook event screenshots

below for a template.

Again, if you have any questions about setting up your event page on social media, please reach out to

info@democracydinners.org.

Venues:

The location in which you choose to host your Democracy Dinner is entirely up to you. You can have

your dinner at home, in your backyard, or, for example, at a friend’s place, or at a local restaurant.

AND: no matter where you choose to host be sure to follow the relevant COVID-19 protocols in your

area!

Facilitating—Best Practices:

● Plan ahead on how you want the dinner to flow. Do you want to have democracy-focused

conversation while eating or after the last course (over coffee, for example)? It can be useful to let

people know the projected end time for the “Democracy” conversation.

● Take care of any housekeeping items at the start of your dinner. Assure participants that what matters

is their personal perspectives, not how much they know about a subject.

● Have everyone introduce themselves.

● Set ground rules for respectful interaction. For example: limit comments to no more than a couple of

minutes (not letting comments become speeches) and use polite and non-aggressive tone/language.

● Be attentive to all participants getting a chance to speak. This may involve calling on participants

(particularly those who have remained silent), noticing if participants raise their hands, etc.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT

It is our hope that your dinner guests will choose to do one or more of the following things:

● Sign up on the Democracy Dinners website as a voter registration volunteer (or “team captain”).

● Sign up on the Democracy Dinners website as a fundraising volunteer (or “team captain”).

● DONATE! The money you raised helps us promote more grassroots organization in the swing

districts of the upcoming Midterm Elections! Your money will directly support voter registration

in swing states.

● Check the status of their own voter registration, register online, or request a mail-in ballot on the

Democracy Dinners website.

● Help promote our movement and volunteer options via their own social media.

● Decide to volunteer to host their own Democracy Dinner.

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:

● Give us feedback! Use democracydinners.org/contact-us or email info@democracydinners.org.

Additionally, please send us photos or videos of your Democracy Dinner!

● Donate! Make more of these dinners and our entire movement possible. Your money will directly

support voter registration in swing states. Give at democracydinners.org/donate.

Again, please remind dinner guests of our ideal goals, particularly:

● Sign up on the Democracy Dinners website as a voter registration volunteer (or as a voter

registration “team captain” —recruiting and supervising other volunteers as well).

● Sign up on the Democracy Dinners website as a fundraising volunteer (or “team captain”).

Onward!

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The Dinner Conversation

Exploring the Topic—Threats to Democracy:

We have curated a list of possible questions/conversation starters for you and your dinner guests. Read

these possible questions and choose the ones that work best for your event, if you find them useful.

General Questions:

1. Are you registered to vote? What led you to that decision?

2. Did you vote in recent elections? Why or why not? How do you feel about the significance of

your vote?

3. How important is/was voting and being registered to vote in your family?

4. How have you seen election results impact different groups in your community? Do results feel

representative of the community in which you live? If not, do you think higher voter

registration/turnout would have helped? Why or why not?

5. What does the outcome of the midterm elections mean to you?

6. Is there anything you would like to improve in our current voting practices that you think might

increase voter registration and voter turnout in local, state, and national elections?

7. How have you made your voting decisions in the past? What will determine how or if you cast

your vote in the future?

8. Why do you think some people are unregistered to vote/don’t vote in elections? What could

change this?

9. What is the role of politics in your own life?

10. What is going wrong in our politics? What is going right?

11. Are elections in the United States fair?

12. How can voter registration/voter turnout promote effective government?

General Talking Points:

1. Brainstorm threats to democracy and possible solutions

2. How do you approach political conversations/civility

3. Why the upcoming Midterms are so important

4. Voter registration and your personal experiences

5. Voting rights/suppression

6. Gerrymandering

7. Party Polarization

8. Confidence in elections

9. Confidence in the U.S. government

In-Depth Threats to Democracy Questions:

1. Do you know what your congressional district is? Do you think most Americans know how

important different congressional districts are?

2. Can you describe what exactly gerrymandering is?

3. How prevalent of an issue do you think gerrymandering is within the U.S.? How does

gerrymandering personally affect you?

4. How prevalent do you believe partisan or racial gerrymandering to be? Is this a prominent

concern for you?

5. Consider this quote from NPR: “Only roughly 30 of 435 U.S. House seats will be considered

traditional "swing seats" on the ballot this November. Those are congressional districts won

within 5% by Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Districts that are competitive tend to be represented by

lawmakers with the most incentives to be bipartisan.” How do you think this should impact

redistricting conversations in the future?

6. Do you believe gerrymandering is a threat to democracy? If so, how?

7. What are the most important civil rights to you? How do civil rights correlate to the standing of

American democracy today?

8. How do civil rights, equality, and autonomy connect to today’s democracy? Do you believe any

of these things to be in danger?

9. Consider this quote from the Brennan Center: “Another study shows that voters in Texas who

would be barred from voting absent the state’s “Reasonable Impediments Declaration” (a

court-ordered remedy allowing voters without proper IDs to participate) are disproportionately,

Black and Latino. The study argues that its ‘findings indicate that strict identification laws will

stop a disproportionately minority, otherwise willing set of registered voters from voting.’An

article using a similar methodology and administrative records found that voters of color in

Michigan were more likely to show up to the polls without proper identification. Yet another

study used survey data to demonstrate that voters of color in states across the country lacked

access to the needed IDs to vote in their state.” In your opinion, does this point to voter

suppression?

10. Have you ever experienced or witnessed voter suppression?

11. What are some solutions to possible voter suppression throughout the U.S.?

12. Why do people avoid political conversations?

13. What is the best approach to having a discussion with someone you politically disagree with?

14. Do you have friends or family that have different political beliefs? How does this affect your

relationship?

15. Do you believe polarization between the left and the right is detrimentally impacting democracy?

If yes, how?

16. How is polarization seen in our nation and its elections today?

17. Consider this quote from The Atlantic: “Until a few decades ago, most Democrats did not hate

Republicans, and most Republicans did not hate Democrats. Very few Americans thought the

other side's policies were a threat to the country or worried about their child marrying a spouse

who belonged to a different political party.” Why has this changed? How would you fix this issue?

18. How do you think extremism and polarization will affect the upcoming Midterm elections?

19. Do you think polarization within the U.S. discourages people from voting or even registering to

vote?

20. What did the January 6th riots mean to you?

21. What was the lead-up to the January 6th riots? How does this show the cracks in the standing of

today’s democracy?

22. How do the events of January 6th and the overall distrust in American elections affect democracy?

23. Consider this quote from NPR: “One year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Americans

are deeply pessimistic about the future of democracy.” Why is this, and do you agree? What were

the lasting repercussions of January 6th?

24. Consider this quote from PBS: “There's a really fascinating statistic that came out just a couple of

days ago. Georgia is actually the most registered state in the country; 95 percent of Georgians

who are eligible to vote are now registered, which is a truly amazing statistic.” Compared to

Georgia, why do you think a lot of people choose not to register to vote? And what do you think

is a tipping point for people wanting to finally register?

25. Do you think there is any danger in introducing more voting laws (ie. narrowing time periods for

requesting absentee ballots)? Does this invoke any fear of voter suppression in the U.S.?

26. How do voting laws impact people differently (ie. introducing strict Voter ID laws or restricting

voting on Sundays)? For example, are minorities more likely to be affected by these new laws?

a. How do these laws personally affect you? Do you know of the voter laws in your home

state?

27. Consider this quote from CNN: “Most Americans lack confidence that the results of US elections

reflect the people's will. This sentiment has grown steadily since January 2021, according to a

new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.” Do you personally agree with this? Why do you think people

have these sentiments toward American elections?

28. Does the increasing polarization between Democrats and Republicans add to this distrust in

American elections? If so, how?

29. Consider this quote from the Washington Post: “Uncle Sam isn’t a trustworthy dude. He was in

1964 when Americans gave the government he symbolizes a positive rating of 77 percent. Since

then, public trust has fallen to a disturbing 20 percent, “near historic lows,” according to a Pew

Research Center report.” Why do you think this is? Why do people not trust elected officials to

help fix the nation’s issues anymore?

a. What has specifically changed to significantly decrease public trust? What factors were in

place to make public trust in the U.S. government so strong? Can we get back to that level

of public trust?

30. How does this public mistrust affect the federal government? Is it possible for the U.S.

government to “fix” major issues (whatever you consider to be the major issues within our nation

and how they should be “fixed”) with this lack of public faith?

FINAL REMINDER: If you have any questions, please contact us at info@democracydinners.org