How *you* can protect democracy
29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect our system of government
Democracy versus autocracy is more than just an abstract conflict between competing principles. When our nation shifts toward authoritarianism, it affects all of us. Quite literally, our lives, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are at stake. This may feel weighty: The stakes are high.
But it’s also an opportunity: Our democracy has never quite been what it ought to be. If it’s the framework for our entire way of life, shouldn’t we try to make it the best we can? Try to not only protect it, but also nurture and improve it?
How we respond to this moment will shape what happens next.
But can I really make a difference?
National events, and their impacts on us and our loved ones, can feel overwhelming. We may feel a sense of fear and helplessness.
There is good news: Regular citizens are the ones best suited to strengthen our democracy. This is especially true at the local level, where our sphere of influence is greatest. Consider our circles of concern, influence, and control:
In truth, we are not helpless at all. Below are 29 real, concrete actions you can start taking right away. These actions can offer not only knowledge, relief, and power — but also joy, fun, and community.
So, let’s embrace our inner optimists and get started. Challenge yourself (and others!) to complete as many of these as possible in the coming year. Some will take you less than 30 seconds, some may take months, and some will never truly be complete. This mission is a generational struggle.
Learn
Most immediately, we are in control of ourselves. To defeat authoritarianism, we must commit to a healthier information diet. Doomscrolling can induce a hypervigilant state of anxiety or have a numbing effect that impedes our ability to act in the real world.
Shifting the balance of your information consumption away from social media, cable networks, and pundits and toward slower, more in-depth, and — above all else — useful information can be a first step in protecting democracy (and feeling better about the world).
Action #1: Invest in local news
Since we know our greatest impact can be at the local level, start with local news. Civic engagement is strongly tied to local news habits.
Extra credit: If you live in a news desert, maybe this is your opportunity to start your own local publication.
Action #2: Invest in national/international news
On the national level, make sure you’re consuming (and subscribing to) news that is balanced and substantive.
Make adjustments to your subscriptions (or start your first one), with an eye toward reliability.
Consider using a tool like Ground.news, “a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias and break free from algorithms.”
If your main source of information is social media, consider reducing it.
Action #3: Know who represents your community, at every level
Quick quiz! Do you know the name(s) of your … Neighborhood leaders (block/homeowner/community association)? School board members (even if you don’t have kids)? Local legislators (council, etc.)? Local executives (mayor, town manager, etc.)? State legislator(s)?
Make sure you know who these folks are. This knowledge will be essential in confronting the autocratic threat at every level.
If any of them are new to you, spend a little time learning about them, and even getting to know them. Better yet, ask some trusted community members what they think! Consult your local news sources (if available).
Action #4: Become an expert at spotting (and fighting) mis- and disinformation
In the hunt for a balanced information diet, we've got to equip ourselves to run into information that is not accurate; sometimes information that is spread accidentally (“misinformation”) and sometimes with intent to deliberately mislead (“disinformation”).
For a quick overview, CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) offers a helpful, printable guide. And for those who really want to level up, Ponyter’s MediaWise offers a myriad of resources to help you spot mis- and disinformation. Once you’ve mastered these skills, you can help others learn, too.
Action #5: Understand the 2025 authoritarian threat
The Authoritarian Playbook for 2025 lays out the specific threats we can expect in 2025 and beyond. The report provides a framework for understanding authoritarianism, both here in the U.S., and internationally. It also includes ten strategies for the broader pro-democracy coalition to mitigate the threat.
Action #6: Invest in your local library
Leaning into slower, longer-form content is a great way to improve your information diet (and attention span). Even better, spending time at your local library lets you make connections in your community’s most accessible third place. It can also be a spot to share signs and fliers with your community, as public bulletin boards are increasingly rare in many places.
Get your library card. If you need ideas for books to borrow, here are some recent favorites from our staff.
Action #7: Learn more about your state
Because we have a federalist system of government, many of the decisions that impact our daily lives are made at the state level. Understanding the basics of your state can help prepare you for becoming more active in its democracy. Learn basic facts about your state from the U.S. Census (written for kids and actually pretty informative).
Skim this list of U.S. state topics on Wikipedia, and read a few. Here, you’ll find state data on everything from life expectancy, to income, to carbon dioxide emissions.
Action #8: Learn more about our nation
A 2018 survey found that just one in three Americans would pass the U.S. citizenship test. Having a strong command of the (not-so-basic) basics can really help put things in perspective — and will be essential to push back against autocrats.
Review the U.S. citizenship test. What percent can you answer correctly?
In many ways, our government is shaped by how we design our elections. Learn the basics of electoral system design and how we could do things differently.
From crime, the economy, and education to health and population, USA Facts is a great, non-partisan tool to learn more about our nation. Watch one of their videos and subscribe.
Our constitution is central to our democracy. Explore the U.S. Constitution at the Constitution Center.
Build community
Now that you’re a deeply informed advocate for democracy, it’s time to get out into the world and try to make some changes beyond your immediate circle of control.
To really have an impact on democracy, you need to build a strong local network beyond yourself.
Here’s how:
Action #9: Clean up (and build up!) your contacts
It may seem odd, but this is probably the most powerful action you can take on this list. Spend time reviewing your contacts, and consider putting them into categories. If you’re only in touch with some people on social media, now is the time to send them your real contact information and request the same.
You cannot rely on social media to manage your contacts, or for the purposes of outreach and advocacy.
Use a single platform to store and manage contacts (Google Contacts, iCloud, a spreadsheet, or whatever works for you). Clean up your existing contacts.
Reach out to friends/family (even the ones with difficult politics) via social media to get their real contact information (phone, email), and add them to your contacts. Augment your contacts with more useful information (like birthdays, mailing addresses, and even pictures if you like).
Add local community activists and local elected officials to your list (regardless of their respective issues or whether you know them personally).
Organize your contact list into categories/groups (such as local, family, work, college friends, softball league, church, etc). You don’t have to go overboard, but these lists will be really useful later.
Action #10: Secure your communications
Given both continued cyberattacks and the threat of an autocratic administration, it is highly advisable to better secure your communications with others. This not only protects you but also your broader community.
An encrypted messaging application like Signal is far more secure than traditional text messaging. It also allows you to set messages to automatically disappear after a certain time period — and as an added advantage, you can use it across all your devices (including your desktop).
Install Signal on your devices and enable disappearing messages.
Extra credit: Urge your friends and family to install it as well.
Action #11: Go to a local community meeting
There will be times when national actions are necessary, but you will be in a better position to respond if you have already built a strong local network, and if you have already established genuine relationships with those you seek to influence.
A great place to start is a local community meeting (think school board, town hall, council meeting).
Find one local community or government meeting that you’re interested in. Add it to your calendar.
Bring a friend! They may end up being the next great community leader.
Try to meet at least one new community member at the meeting, and ideally get their contact information. Follow up with them, even with just a short “Nice to meet you!”
If the meeting turns out to be interesting and a good use of time, email your list of local contacts with details for the next one.
Action #12: Organize people who agree with you
Within your network are plenty of people ready to help; they just need to know what to do. You don’t need anyone’s permission, or anyone’s blessing, to start organizing these people towards action.
Maybe start with a short email about your ideas, hopes, and concerns. Ask if they’re interested in getting more involved. Or organize a party, cookout, coffee klatch, book club, etc., to get people together in person.
Send a message to potentially like-minded folks, and see who is interested in getting together/involved. These are most effective with direct messages.
Organize an event, and ask people to bring a friend.
Action #13: Dialogue with people who don’t agree with you
This is a tough one, and in some cases may even be impossible. But if you can do it, it will bring you to the next level in the fight to save our democracy. Find a way to sit down and have a conversation with someone you think (or know) may see things differently.
This is important: At this point, your goal is NOT to convince them they’re wrong. It’s to understand why they think the way they do and see if you can help them understand why you see things your way. There’s a good chance during this conversation that one or both of you will feel angry, and that’s OK.
When you’re ready:
Sit down with someone who disagrees with you, and discuss a difficult topic (like democracy).
Listen, and understand why they feel the way they do (doesn’t mean agree with them).
Help them understand why you feel the way you do. (This may need to wait for the future conversation below, and it doesn’t mean convincing them of your perspective.)
Action #14: Set a giving budget
As autocracy impacts local communities, existing groups on the ground can push back and help those most impacted. But they need resources to do their work. Compared to most other countries, Americans tend to give a lot more to philanthropy. But this giving is often sporadic, and can make it difficult for organizations to budget and make long-term plans. Further, one-off gifts come with more overhead for nonprofits, so they’re not terribly economically efficient.
Set a sustainable monthly (or annual) giving budget (ideally a percent of your income).
Make a list of local organizations doing good work.
Set up recurring monthly donations to these organizations that align with your budget. (You can always increase or decrease later depending on your circumstances.)
Action #15: Volunteer in your community
Volunteering is an easy way to meet other people in your community and build your local network. Of course, you don’t have to volunteer for a political cause or something explicitly democracy related. Just getting involved locally is a great first step.
The Lawyer’s Committee provides “election protection” for voters, and has great volunteer opportunities for legal professionals (and the rest of us).
Find broader volunteer opportunities in your area with VolunteerMatch.
Action #16: Connect on democracy issues with your local religious leaders
Connect with your local religious leaders to offer nonpartisan election resources, courtesy of our Faith in Elections Playbook.
Reach out to your local religious leaders; share the Faith in Elections Playbook.
Action #17: Engage with a younger person
Historically, younger people vote less frequently than everyone else. And in the most recent presidential election, youth turnout dropped considerably. Whatever your age, engaging younger people (even kids!) in democracy in a meaningful and sustained way will have long-term benefits.
Sit down with someone under the age of 25, and learn a bit about their thoughts on politics and democracy.
Extra credit: Help someone under the age of 25 register (or pre-register) to vote, or update their registration to their current address.
Engage in political action
This section is toward the bottom for a reason. Elections (and political engagement more broadly) are essential to democracy but should ideally be the logical conclusion of deeper community engagement, not the one and only thing we do to protect democracy.
That being said, once we’ve learned about the issues at play and invested in strengthening our communities, it’s time to take that power and use it.
Action #18: Reach out to your elected officials
Calling your local officials about an issue makes a big difference (as does just getting to know them better). Note that whoever answers the phone/checks email is keeping a tally of for/against a particular issue, so when you reach out, you don’t have to be particularly eloquent or barrage them with statistics.
As you become more sophisticated in your activism, try to understand which issues fall under which jurisdiction (local, state, federal). In other words, don’t call your U.S. senator about town zoning or your local council member about international conflicts.
If you haven’t yet, add your elected officials to your contacts.
Reach out to one (or more) elected official about an issue that falls into their jurisdiction; ask them what their priorities are for their next legislative session; or just get to know them better.
Action #19: Organize around an issue, not a candidate
As candidates have begun to forgo “issues” pages on their websites, it’s worth returning to the question of what the point of a democratic republic is in the first place. Are we choosing candidates because we like them personally, or based on their ability and willingness to represent our interests?
Identify a local issue you’re passionate about and research the topic in depth. (Warning: Your feelings about the topic may become more nuanced or may even change completely.)
Find others in your community already working on this issue. (The more you connect with those around you, the easier it will be to find these folks.)
Extra credit: If no one is already actively involved in an issue you think is important, it’s up to you to take the lead.
Action #20: Get involved with a local political party
A record number of Americans (six in ten) view both political parties unfavorably. But the reality is parties are an essential and inescapable feature of any democracy. We will always have political parties, the only question is — what will those parties be like?
In many ways, the growing antipathy to political parties is a negative feedback loop. As many Americans disassociate with parties, it creates openings for those who are more extreme, ideological, or committed to securing power — even at the expense of our democracy.
If you live in a closed-primary state (where only people registered in a party can vote in its primary), consider registering in the dominant party. Note that you don’t need to vote the party line in the general.
If you live in a state that allows fusion voting (where multiple parties can nominate the same candidate), figure out which party best represents your values and vote for your preferred candidate on that line, even if it’s a minor party.
Get more involved in activities as a member, volunteer, or elected officer of your local political party. And when you do so, be a voice for democracy — not just partisan priorities.
Action #21: Learn how to safely and effectively assemble
The right to assemble and protest is fundamental to democracy. In the U.S., it is also protected by the Constitution. Learning what actions are permissible, and what actions are out of bounds, is key to effectively expressing yourself.
Read the ACLU’s guide to protester’s rights.
Study this toolkit from the Center for Applied Nonviolence.
Action #22: Get a job
Maybe you’re ready to dedicate more than just your free time to making a difference in our democracy. If you want to make a career of it, there are plenty of great organizations (including ours) who may need your skills. Here are some places to begin your search:
Action #23: Thank your election official
Over the past few years, your local election official and their staff have likely endured threats, harassment, major changes to election procedures, and plenty more. Write them a short note thanking them. Of course, if there are areas for improvement, give them this feedback, too.
Look up your local election official (and add them to your contacts).
Send them and their staff a nice thank you note.
Action #24: Become a poll worker
Even better than thanking your local election official, help them out and maybe make some money, too!
Action #25: Help someone run for office, or run for office yourself
If there’s a local candidate who aligns with your positions, why not get involved in their campaign? Maybe you can even manage it and leverage your (now impressive) contact list.
If you’ve determined there is no one running who meets your standards, run for office yourself. Here’s a (very) streamlined guide on how to run for office.
Help someone run for office.
Extra credit: Run for office
Action #26: Help your network vote
Communicating with your now-considerable network on when and how to vote — not just in the general election, but especially in lower-turnout elections like locals, primaries, and runoffs — is a fairly easy action:
The National Association of Secretaries of State has specific pages that connect voters to their state’s website on things like registering to vote, checking voter registration status, finding your polling place.
Vote.org outlines important deadlines related to the election and allows you to sign up to get reminders of upcoming deadlines.
Extra credit: Send your contact list accurate information about the next election, well before the registration deadline. Include your own well-researched endorsements, or talk about your interactions with the candidates who are up for election.
Bonus Actions
Action #27: Improve this guide
Now that you’ve gone through this guide, you may have thoughts about what is missing — or even what should be removed. If so, please let us know so we can improve it: digital@protectdemocracy.org.
Action #28: Become a leader in the democracy movement
Now that you’ve cleaned up your contacts, why not share this guide (here’s an online version) with your network? You can send it all at once or send a few actions at a time. Print copies and bring it to a community event.
All you need to get started as a democracy leader is your own gumption and this guide. You don’t need anyone’s permission or invitation — just become a leader by getting others involved in this work!
Action #29: Forward this list to others — and ask them to subscribe
As you know, this newsletter exists exclusively to equip you with what you need to know about what’s happening in our democracy, and what you can do about it. Help us spread the word.
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Fantastic!!
Thank you! My local group will use this to make a difference.