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MoveOn

Formation	1998; 27 years ago (1998)
Executive Director	Rahna Epting

MoveOn is a group that works to influence public policy and politics in the United States. It's known as a "progressive" organization, meaning it supports ideas like social justice, environmental protection, and economic fairness.

MoveOn started in 1998 with one of the first very popular online petitions. Since then, it has grown into one of the biggest and most effective groups for everyday people who want to make a difference in progressive politics. Millions of people are part of MoveOn.

In the 2020 presidential election, MoveOn supported Joe Biden. For the 2024 presidential election, MoveOn supported Kamala Harris, who was the Vice President at the time. Rahna Epting has been the Executive Director of MoveOn since 2019.

How MoveOn Works

Rahna Epting, a leader at MoveOn.

MoveOn is made up of two main parts, each with a different job:

MoveOn.org Civic Action: This part focuses on teaching people about important national issues and encouraging them to speak up. It's a non-profit group.
MoveOn.org Political Action: This part works directly to support political candidates across the country. It's a political action committee (PAC), which means it can raise and spend money to help candidates get elected.

MoveOn describes both parts as "MoveOn."

In 2019, Anna Galland and Ilya Sheyman stepped down as co-executive directors after six years. On May 29, 2019, MoveOn announced that Rahna Epting would be their new executive director. She officially started in October 2019.

MoveOn's Story

MoveOn began in 1998 as an email group. It was created by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, who were married software entrepreneurs. They started by sharing an online petition. This petition asked Congress to "censure" (officially criticize) President Bill Clinton and then "move on" to other important issues, instead of trying to remove him from office.

This one-sentence petition was shared widely by email and gathered half a million signatures. It was one of the first times an online petition became so popular. Even though it didn't stop Congress from trying to remove the President, Blades and Boyd continued to start similar campaigns. These included calls for arms inspections instead of invading Iraq and for changes to how political campaigns are funded.

Opposing Clinton's Impeachment

The MoveOn.org website was launched in September 1998 to oppose efforts to remove President Clinton from office. The petition asked people to sign their names to say that Congress should criticize Clinton and then focus on other important problems facing the country.

The founders, Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, had previously created a successful entertainment software company. After selling their company, they became worried about the intense political fighting in Washington.

When MoveOn launched, many thought its petition would not be as big as the efforts to remove Clinton. However, within a week, MoveOn's support grew quickly. Joan Blades said they sent the petition to fewer than a hundred friends and family, and within a week, 100,000 people had signed it. Eventually, half a million people signed.

MoveOn also organized 2,000 volunteers to deliver the petitions in person to members of Congress across America. They also helped people make 30,000 phone calls to political offices.

After Congress voted to try and remove Clinton in November 1998, MoveOn launched a "We will remember" campaign. Members pledged to work against members of Congress who voted for impeachment in the next election.

In early 1999, MoveOn also started working on other issues. After a school shooting in Colorado, they launched a "Gun Safety First" petition. This petition promoted common-sense rules for firearms, like safety standards for gun makers.

Creating MoveOn PAC

In June 1999, MoveOn created its own political action committee, the MoveOn PAC. This allowed them to accept donations online. They were very successful, raising $250,000 in their first five days and $2 million for the 2000 election. This money helped elect new Senators and House members.

MoveOn was especially good at raising money from many small donors, with an average donation of $35. Before the internet, it was very expensive to raise small donations because of printing and postage costs. MoveOn's costs were much lower, mostly just credit card fees. This showed that candidates could raise a lot of money and find volunteers online without spending too much. This changed how political fundraising worked.

The 2000 elections also saw MoveOn's first effort to help people register to vote online. They also warned their members that voting for a third-party candidate could accidentally help George W. Bush win the presidential election.

Online Discussions and Activism

In January 2000, MoveOn launched ActionForum.com, an online discussion site for people to get involved in making policies. Unlike typical chat rooms, this site allowed members to rank comments they liked, so the best ideas would rise to the top. Users had to use their real names. While it didn't become popular for local city planning, it became an important way for MoveOn to get ideas from its own members.

In March 2001, MoveOn teamed up with another online group and hired its first full-time director, Peter Schurman. In 2001, MoveOn focused on issues like campaign finance reform, protecting the environment, and opposing a plan to get rid of taxes for wealthy families. They also responded to electricity problems in California by calling for controls on energy companies. They even organized a "roll your own energy blackout," where over 10,000 people voluntarily turned off lights and unplugged appliances for three hours to protest an energy plan.

Opposing the Iraq War

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, MoveOn started an online campaign called "justice, not escalating violence." They gathered 30,000 signatures for a statement that argued against bombing other countries and creating more conflict. This led to them working with Eli Pariser, who later became MoveOn's executive director. This period saw MoveOn grow a lot and become more well-known.

As the invasion of Iraq approached, MoveOn started a big campaign against the war. They created anti-war petitions and encouraged members to write letters to local newspapers.

In August 2002, MoveOn launched an online petition against the war, collecting 220,000 signatures in two months. Like before, volunteers delivered these signatures to senators and representatives. In October 2002, MoveOn raised $1 million in two days for four members of Congress who opposed the war. Overall, they raised $3.5 million for the 2002 election.

MoveOn also joined with 14 other groups to form the Win Without War coalition. In December 2002, MoveOn launched another petition to raise money for a full-page anti-war ad in the New York Times. They aimed for $40,000 but received nearly $400,000. With the extra money, they sponsored anti-war radio and TV ads in 13 cities. These TV ads warned that war could lead to terrible consequences. The ads were very effective, getting a lot of news coverage and helping MoveOn gain 100,000 new members.

By early 2003, MoveOn had over 750,000 members in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands more overseas. As the war in Iraq got closer, their membership grew even faster. In January 2003, over 9,000 members visited more than 400 offices of U.S. senators and representatives to deliver petitions in person. In February 2003, MoveOn and Win Without War organized a "virtual march on Washington," which led to over 1 million phone calls and faxes to politicians opposing the invasion.

In June 2003, MoveOn and Win Without War bought a full-page ad in the New York Times that criticized President Bush and demanded an investigation into U.S. intelligence about Iraq.

In 2007, MoveOn helped organize another anti-war group called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.

2004 Presidential Election

In June 2003, MoveOn held what they called "the first online primary of the modern age" for the 2004 presidential election. Howard Dean won with 44 percent of the vote. Over 300,000 people voted online, which was more than the combined number of voters in some early state elections.

In April 2004, MoveOn organized a "Take Back the White House" campaign. This included over 1,100 bake sales across the U.S., gathered 500,000 volunteers, and raised $750,000 for ads criticizing President Bush's military record.

Fahrenheit 9/11 Film

In June 2004, MoveOn encouraged its members to support Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11, which was controversial. Over 110,000 MoveOn members pledged to see the film. MoveOn also organized nearly 3,000 "Turn Up the Heat" house parties. People at these parties listened to Michael Moore speak online and then signed up for voter registration drives and other activities to try and remove President Bush and other Republicans in the November 2004 elections.

2006 "Call for Change" Campaign

For the 2006 elections, MoveOn created a new system called "Call for Change" to reach potential voters. As part of this effort, MoveOn reported making over seven million phone calls to registered voters.

Facebook and Beacon

In November 2007, MoveOn led a campaign that caused Facebook to change its "Beacon" program. This program told Facebook users about purchases made by their friends. A Facebook group called "Petition: Facebook, stop invading my privacy!" had over 54,000 members. Because of this, Facebook changed Beacon to an "opt-in" system, meaning users had to choose to participate.

2008 Presidential Endorsement

On February 1, 2008, MoveOn announced it was supporting Senator Barack Obama for president, instead of Senator Hillary Clinton. MoveOn said it had never supported a presidential candidate before. MoveOn also launched a TV ad criticizing John McCain, Obama's Republican opponent. The ad was called "Not Alex" and showed a young mother saying she wouldn't let her son be sent to Iraq.

2016 Election Efforts

Run Warren Run

In December 2014, MoveOn.org started a campaign to encourage Senator Elizabeth Warren to run for president. Their plan included getting supporters to sign a petition, spending about a million dollars on TV ads in key states, and creating a website called "Run Warren Run." MoveOn wanted to show Warren that she had a path to the presidency and a lot of support from everyday people. By the end of the campaign, MoveOn.org had 365,000 signatures supporting Warren and organized over 400 events. However, Warren decided not to run for president in 2016.

Supporting Bernie Sanders

After Senator Warren decided not to run, MoveOn.org chose to support Senator Bernie Sanders. This happened after 78% of its members voted for him over Hillary Clinton or Martin O'Malley. MoveOn leaders said that Bernie Sanders' strong stance against big money and corporate interests really connected with their members.

MoveOn held online elections where 340,665 members voted. 78.6% supported Bernie Sanders, while 14.6% supported Hillary Clinton and 0.9% supported Martin O'Malley.

United Against Hate

During the 2016 presidential election, MoveOn ran a campaign called "United Against Hate" because of the way Donald Trump was speaking. They hired organizers in important states and used volunteers, online ads, videos, and cultural events to try and influence the election. Famous supporters included Shonda Rhimes and Julianne Moore. MoveOn helped promote protests and paid for protest signs. The goal was to stop Trump, who MoveOn saw as a "dangerous" and "divisive" leader. Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

Organizing Against Trump

MoveOn organized its first protest against Donald Trump the day after the 2016 election. They called for protests of "solidarity, resilience, and resolve," and protests were organized in many cities in less than 24 hours. MoveOn was very active in leading protests against Trump's plans and words throughout his four years as president. This included pushing for his impeachment, working to stop laws like the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and defending how democracy works. MoveOn was one of the most active groups in the anti-Trump movement.

2018 "Families Belong Together" Mobilization

MoveOn was one of the main groups that called for and supported protests across the country in the summer of 2018. These protests were a response to the Trump Administration's policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. In over 750 cities, hundreds of thousands of people marched to protest this policy.

2018 Midterm Election Program

MoveOn ran a big campaign to influence the 2018 midterm elections. They worked to help elect Democrats and defeat Republicans to gain control of the House of Representatives. One special program was "Real Voter Voices," which aimed to convince voters to choose Democrats by sharing short videos made by MoveOn members. MoveOn was one of the top spenders on Facebook ads before the 2018 election.

2019 Campaign to Impeach Donald Trump

After a report about Donald Trump was released in April 2019, MoveOn launched an effort to support the Democratic-led push to impeach Trump. They said that simply criticizing him was "not enough." This was notable because MoveOn was originally created to encourage Congress to "move on" during the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and not impeach President Clinton.

2019 Leadership Change

On January 17, 2019, MoveOn announced that its executive directors, Anna Galland and Ilya Sheyman, would leave their roles after six years.

On May 29, 2019, MoveOn announced that Rahna Epting would be the next executive director. She is the first person of color to lead the organization. Rahna Epting has a background working in other important organizations. She officially became executive director on October 17, 2019.

2020 Election Campaign

MoveOn's 2020 election campaign focused on encouraging people to vote, inspiring them, and protecting the voting process.

How MoveOn Communicates

MoveOn uses many ways to talk to, organize, and motivate its millions of members. These include email, text messages, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, videos online, and organizing events in communities.

MoveOn has also advertised in both new and traditional ways, using billboards, digital ads, bus signs, and bumper stickers.

MoveOn works with other groups to organize street protests, bake sales, house parties, and other events.

Changes in federal election laws have affected groups like MoveOn. A law passed in 2002 changed how political parties could raise money. MoveOn, like many other political groups, found ways to work within these laws to influence elections.

In May 2011, MoveOn.org launched SignOn.org, a free service for hosting online petitions. In 2013, SignOn.org became MoveOn Petitions.

MoveOn's Model

Spreading the MoveOn Model Globally

From the beginning, MoveOn.org's way of combining online activism with real-world political action was very effective. As MoveOn.org grew, its methods became interesting to other organizations facing similar challenges. Ben Brandzel, MoveOn.org's former advocacy director, helped spread the MoveOn model internationally.

In 2007, after leaving MoveOn, Brandzel went to Australia to help a new online group called GetUp! GetUp! is an independent movement that aims to build a progressive Australia and encourage people to participate in their democracy. Brandzel realized that GetUp! faced similar opportunities and challenges as MoveOn.org. He helped GetUp! use similar structures and campaigns as MoveOn.org, and they achieved results much faster than MoveOn did in the U.S.

From this, he concluded that MoveOn.org's success was not just luck. It was a model that could be used in different situations to help other organizations achieve similar results in online and political activism. MoveOn.org's model helped shape GetUp!'s leadership in online campaigning, how the organization communicated, and its ideas on how to create real political change.

Fundraising

Since 1998, MoveOn has raised millions of dollars for many Democratic candidates. When Rahna Epting became executive director, she announced that MoveOn would spend $20 million to "defeat Donald Trump, end Republican control of the Senate, and help Democrats keep the majority in the House of Representatives." MoveOn stated that these funds would be used for creative and cultural projects and to fight against efforts to stop people from voting online.