When they launched RepresentUs, Josh Silver and Joshua Lynn Graham saw a center lane in the American democracy movement with zero traffic. “We focused from the start on being nonpartisan,” Silver says. “Up until RepresentUs, that just never happened — it was just progressive groups pushing democracy reforms. We were the first organization, in both rhetoric and action, to bring together all Americans in support of structural changes to democracy. At its core, the most critical thing that this organization has accomplished.” For Graham, the across-the-aisle approach seemed only logical, knowing only about one-quarter of Americans identified as liberal or progressive. Further, his real-life experiences didn’t jibe with the conventional wisdom that the partisan divide was unbreachable. “I’ve always had a real issue with the idea that if you’re talking to somebody who votes across the aisle you can’t possibly have anything in common,” Graham says. “There isn’t a monopoly on good ideas and there are reasonable people on both sides who often share very common beliefs. The challenge is they lack the common language or shared experience to see the opportunity for collaboration.” These early insights have created enduring framework for RepresentUs, that has consistently, and often cleverly, changed the tone and substance of the conversation in ways that resonate beyond political affiliation or ideology. The nonpartisan thread is woven through everything RepresentUs does, from videos and messaging that keep the focus on attacking a flawed and corrupt system, to establishing programs that encourage nonpartisan unity, to uniting “unlikely allies” in state and local reform campaigns. That’s not to say the nonpartisan path hasn’t hit some turbulence in more recent years. The Jan. 6 insurrection and the persistent Big Lie have, to put it mildly, complicated matters. To successfully navigate the current environment in a way the continues to emphasize nonpartisanship starts with acknowledging that those on the fringe – whether it be left or right – are not a target audience, says Jen Johnson, RepresentUs’ Movement Director. “The current reality is there are some constituencies that are lost to us,” Johnson says. “If you’re believing the Big Lie, then you likely aren’t interested in what we have to say.” “ But there are a large group of voters – many of them Republicans — who do believe in free and fair elections. It’s essential that those who believe the Big Lie aren’t the only voices associated with the GOP. Our strategy is focused on making sure there are other messengers from the Republican party, and across the political spectrum who don’t believe in authoritarianism.” To that end, RepresentUs has been increasingly intentional about engaging a broad range of “trusted voices” and uniting “unlikely allies” behind a common cause. The result has been initiatives such the 2020 VoteSafe campaign that set the record straight on safe, secure mail-in voting and accessible in-person voting options. VoteSafe co-chaired by former swing-state governors: Pennsylvania Republican Tom Ridge and Democrat Jennifer Granholm from Michigan. The effort is further amplified by a host of retired military officials Meanwhile, the Count Every Hero program enlists veterans and citizens from different political ideologies to defend democracy and fight political corruption. RepresentUs is also beginning work working with a new coalition, The Board of Democracy, that brings together business leaders to advocate for democracy reforms. “Ultimately, this is a cultural movement, more than a political one,” Graham says. “That’s been huge, and I think that is what draws people to RepresentUs. There’s an abiding understanding across the American that something is broken in our system, and we need to band together to fix it.”