What Voters Deserve: Speaking to voters in their own language

When James Malone, the Mayor of East Petersburg, ran in a special election in 2025 for State Senate from Pennsylvania’s 36th District, he faced nearly insurmountable odds. Donald Trump had won the district just a year earlier by nearly 15%, and no Democrat had topped the vote total for more than 100 years. Yet Malone won with the help of bilingual canvassers.


Match: We have an anonymous donor who has offered a $15,000 match dollar-for-dollar for contributions above our original $14,000 goal.


What Voters Deserve


What Voters Deserve was founded after James Malone's election, led by Democratic State Rep.Izzy Smith-Wade-El (PA-49) and Lancaster County political organizer Stella Sexton, who was Malone's co-campaign manager. Using back-to-basics, old-fashioned organizing, WVD pays talented Spanish and Mandarin bilingual canvassers to speak with working-class voters in their own communities in a county where close to 20% of households don’t speak English at home.


2026 and Beyond


What Voters Deserve is committed to helping re-elect James Malone, flip embedded PA House districts, and increase Democratic vote share in Lancaster County. WVD hopes to expand the number of canvassers from 8 to 12, continuing outreach to Spanish- and Mandarin-speaking communities and adding the Nepali-speaking community. In order to recruit and retain effective and committed canvassers from these poorer communities, they need our support. Each canvasser will be paid $25/hour with benefits and will work 8-10 hours weekly.


Your contribution to What Voters Deserve will:


  • Help re-elect Democrat James Malone
  • Increase our odds of flipping county government in '27 and, most critically, be part of Democrats' path back to the White House by winning PA in '28
  • Support our efforts to flip the PA Senate, gain a trifecta, and allow PA Democrats to counter Republican mid-cycle gerrymandering
  • Support an effective model for talking to voters who do not speak English at home

 

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  3. I am at least eighteen years old.
  4. This contribution is made from my own funds, and funds are not being provided to me by another person or entity for the purpose of making this contribution.

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