Help Unlock the Secrets to Defeating Bad Prosecutors

Contested prosecutor elections are extremely rare so we’re using this as an opportunity to analyze which tactics and messages will help drive engagement and activate voters. That’s why we teamed up the Analyst Institute — the folks who used data science to help Obama win the Presidency — to run an experiment to see if we can unlock the secret to winning these elections.

We sent a variety of voter mobilization messages to Black voters in the district. Tomorrow, we need to immediately begin polling voters to see if our messages worked. This type of research is costly but extremely valuable. We need to raise $38,047 to poll enough voters to get statistically significant results.

Of the 800+ incumbent prosecutors up for election this year, more than 70% got their seats running without any opposition at all. And even when there is opposition, it’s rare to have a reform candidate like Kim Foxx in the race. We need to fundamentally reshape the electoral market for prosecutors and make it clear that candidates can win elections by promising to hold police accountable and fight a mass incarceration agenda.

Now the tactics we’re testing with the Analyst Institute are just one piece of the electoral puzzle. As our Senior Criminal Justice Campaigns Director, Scott Roberts, has been writing you for weeks, a corps of dedicated Black youth organizers have been organizing their communities and leading the fight in Chicago. This fight doesn’t end on Election Day. No matter who wins when the ballots are counted it will take dedicated campaigning to ensure she is accountable to the communities she serves.

Having a scientifically backed experiment to prove we can activate voters in prosecutor elections is a key element to developing out an overall strategy to change the incentive structure for prosecutors across the country. This experiment could revolutionize the way we think about prosecutor elections and give us the tools to encourage more and more champions of reform to run for office. But we need your help!