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Where They Stand is a nonpartisan guide to everyone running for Congress: their money, their own words and how incumbents voted. Find your ballot →
PACs › Hybrid PAC (qualified) › 2025–2026
Hybrid PAC (qualified)Washington, District of ColumbiaActive
Connected organization: Defend the Vote Leadership Fund
"political action committee that fights to preserve our right to vote and elect candidates who will protect democracy" https://wedefendthevote.org/ "a joint website of Defend the Vote and Defend the Vote Action" (Linked public record: LittleSis organization profile)
FEC filings through Oct 14, 2026 · FEC bulk filing data · committee C00764233 · files monthly
“Defend The Vote is a political action committee dedicated to preserving our democracy through ensuring voting access, education and protection.”
Defend the Vote, on its own site, wedefendthevote.org
Quoted from the committee's site, or its sponsor's or funder's where its own says nothing. The statement is filed under topics from a fixed list, chosen by AI models when two of three agree; which side it takes is in its own words.
13 priorities from the committee’s own site, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
Defend The Vote will fight to preserve our most valuable American right: the right to vote.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org at this heading)
Defend The Vote fights to preserve our most valuable American rights: the freedom to vote and to make our voices heard.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/about
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/about ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/about at this heading)
Combined, Defend the Vote and DTV Action Fund aim to raise $10 Million in the 2026 Cycle to elect candidates, support organizations, and pass legislation to protect every American’s voice and vote.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/goals
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/goals ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/goals at this heading)
Work to elect candidates in Red to Blue, Frontline, and targeted Senate battleground races to win a pro-democracy majority (DTV)
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/goals
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/goals ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/goals at this heading)
Support House and Senate leadership and all voting rights champions in Congress (DTV)
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/goals
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/goals ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/goals at this heading)
Defend against voting restrictions, election funding cuts, and bills to take away our freedoms (DTVAF)
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/goals
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/goals ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/goals at this heading)
Support local and national partners who defend voters and election workers (DTVAF)
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/goals
Heading as listed on wedefendthevote.org/goals ↗ (opens wedefendthevote.org/goals at this heading)
Our nation’s failure to solve the major issues facing American families, from housing costs, to high grocery prices, to gun violence is a failure of democracy.
Billionaires and extreme politicians have systematically dismantled guardrails that protect the voice of regular people.
Now, the Trump administration is breaking down the checks and balances designed to hold our leaders accountable.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/strategies
Defend The Vote is committed to supporting candidates who will rebuild our democracy so it works for everyone—not just the wealthy and powerful.
That starts with protecting free and fair elections, safeguarding our right to vote, and ensuring billionaires don’t drown out the voice of the people.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/strategies
DTV works to elect candidates dedicated to protecting the right to vote
Invest in candidates and committees to win pro-democracy majorities
Provide candidates with political, research, and messaging support
Serve as a top convener, bringing together candidates, issue experts, and advocacy leaders
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/strategies
DTV Action Fund fights to ensure democracy serves all of us, not just the big donors and billionaires
Defend against bills that restrict our rights and freedoms, like the ACE Act and SAVE ACT
Prevent election funding cuts to ensure our elections are secure and accessible
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/strategies
DTV and DTV Action Fund each invest in local and national organizations working to ensure that all eligible Americans can vote.
End Voter Intimidation At Polling Stations
Protect Election Officials From Harassment and Violent Threats
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/strategies
Comprehensive legislation to protect access to the ballot for Americans, establish commonsense federal election standards, limit the influence of money in politics, and strengthen our democracy.
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 14/S.
4) – Cosponsorship: A bill to protect the right to vote and safeguard our democracy by restoring and modernizing the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/scorecard
Legislation to end the scourge of dark money and shine a bright light of transparency on politics, including on the dark money forces that have been leading efforts to restrict the freedom to vote.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/scorecard
American Confidence In Elections Act (H.R. 4563) – Cosponsorship: An extremist bill that undermines our democracy by eroding voting access nationwide, removing campaign finance safeguards, and taking steps to undercut impartial election administration.
Resolution That Trump Did Not Engage In Insurrection (H.Res. 1001) – Cosponsorship: Just another effort to whitewash Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which included sending a violent mob of his supporters to the U.S. Capitol as Congress certified the results – leading to more than 1,200 people being charged with crimes.
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (H.R. 8281) – House floor vote: Based on misinformation and false allegations about the 2020 election, the bill erects barriers to voting through additional, restrictive, and burdensome requirements on voters to verify citizenship status despite existing laws already requiring voters to do so and existing penalties for those who violate these laws.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · wedefendthevote.org/scorecard
Each part reads different filings, so counts and totals can differ.
Direct PAC contributions and independent expenditures explicitly reported as support, by the party of the candidate they went to.
Spending against candidates is drawn on its own bar and left out of the support totals.
Contributions are reported money, not endorsements; a PAC giving to both parties is common.
Every contribution on line 23 of the committee’s own Schedule B, which is the filing its summary totals are built from. That line covers federal candidates, party committees and other political committees alike, so a super PAC funding other super PACs appears here rather than under candidate giving.
| Recipient | Count | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic candidates | 155 | $806.5K · 81% |
| Other or unresolved candidates | 6 | $25K · 2.5% |
| Democratic party committees | 1 | $5K · 0.5% |
| Other party committees | 2 | $57.5K · 5.8% |
| Other PACs and committees | 18 | $100K · 10% |
| All recipients | 182 | $994K |
| State | Candidates | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California | 27 | $112.5K |
| New York | 10 | $60K |
| Texas | 12 | $52.5K |
| Virginia | 7 | $41K |
| Illinois | 7 | $37.5K |
| New Jersey | 5 | $35K |
| Iowa | 4 | $35K |
| Ohio | 4 | $32.5K |
The largest 8 of 38 states.
The 13 largest sources are listed. Each as the committee named it on this line, $12.6M from 3 sources in all, with its largest individual donors, whose gifts it files here too. Individuals' gifts on this line are not itemized in the data the site holds, so the list need not add up to the row.
Total reported receipts $17,392,347
Every dollar the committee reported receiving this cycle, split by the source the FEC filing attributes it to. Open a source marked + to see who gave. FEC filings through Oct 14, 2026.
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Tap or hover over a state, or focus the map and use the arrow keys, to read its total. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom.
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| 11,969 contributions · 16% | $214,893 |
| 4,285 contributions · 6.7% | $89,452 |
Total reported disbursements $17,395,891
Every dollar this committee reported spending this cycle, split by the lines it reports against. Open a line to see who was actually paid on it. FEC filings through Oct 14, 2026.
These are the payments the committee itemized to vendors, staff and other committees. Its $12,264,638 in independent expenditures is filed separately, against the candidate each was about, so it is counted in the split above and listed by candidate below, not here.
$17.4M spent from Jan 2025 to Oct 2026. Most in one report: $12.1M, September 2026.
The running total of what the committee’s FEC reports say it spent, independent expenditures included, with a point at the end of each report. The line is straight between reports because a report gives one total for its whole period. Numbered lines mark the elections that drew the most independent spending. Each expenditure counts toward the next election on its seat after the day it was made, and a seat is named when it drew at least a tenth of that spending. The line stops at the latest report, through Oct 14, 2026, at the dashed rule; elections after it are marked where they fall.
Besides giving through its PAC, Defend the Vote Action Fund pays lobbyists to press Congress and federal agencies. Each quarter it, or a firm it hires, files a public report under the Lobbying Disclosure Act saying which topics it worked on, what it spent, and whom it contacted. This is what those reports say.
Each report files its work under official topics. The bar shows how often each topic came up across the reports; open one to read what was filed under it. Naming a bill says the organization lobbied on it, not which side it took.
Each firm reports what this client paid it.
Reported twice a year by the lobbying filer. $97.2K is political giving that also appears in FEC filings.
Matched by name: these reports are filed for “DEFEND THE VOTE ACTION FUND”, found by searching “DEFEND THE VOTE”. Lobbying and FEC records share no ID, so an organization that lobbies under another name is missed. Source: LDA.gov, accessed Oct 26, 2026. Senate Office of Public Records cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from LDA.gov.
"political action committee that fights to preserve our right to vote and elect candidates who will protect democracy" https://wedefendthevote.org/ "a joint website of Defend the Vote and Defend the Vote Action" Linked public record: LittleSis organization profile.
Statements are quoted from these pages exactly. Headings, order and wording are the committee’s or its sponsor’s; the record marking is ours.
Defend the Vote is matched to organization records using the FEC committee identity, structured identifiers, and corroborated organization data.
LittleSis data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bars drawn to $42.5K, the largest gift total here. 2025–2026 filings.
Candidate contribution rows come from candidate committee Schedule A filings, the same rows the party chart above counts.
Money moving between this committee and other committees, matched on FEC committee ID rather than the name each filing was typed under. Both sides exclude memo entries. The figures here count each committee once, from the itemized transfers read for this section, so they will not match the payment counts under Who this PAC gave to.
Committees that reported giving to this one on their own Schedule A filings, grouped by the giver’s committee ID.
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hybrid PAC (nonqualified) · 10 payments | $171.2K |
| PAC (qualified) · Connected to BRANCH 193 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE · 1 payment | $50K |
| PAC (nonqualified) · 3 payments | $14K |
$235.2K from 3 committees, counting every itemized receipt this cycle.
Disbursements this committee itemized to another committee: candidate contributions, party transfers and payments alike, not contributions only.
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Party committee (qualified) · 3 payments | $42.5K |
| Party committee (qualified) · 1 payment | $15K |
| PAC (qualified) · Connected to PRO-CHOICE WOMEN · 3 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to BLUE TO THE FUTURE 2024 · 3 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to JOSH RILEY VICTORY FUND · 3 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to EDW HOLD THE HOUSE FUND · 4 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to JFW FUND · 4 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to CLYBURN CLEAVER FIGURES VICTORY FUND · 4 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to SUSIE LEE VICTORY FUND 2024 · 3 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to BLUE DOG VICTORY FUND · 3 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to CALIFORNIA HOUSE MAJORITY FUND · 4 payments | $10K |
| House campaign committee · Connected to BLUE TO THE FUTURE 2024 · 4 payments | $10K |
$994K across 179 recipient committees, or 5.7% of everything this committee reports spending. The largest 12 are shown.
Built from FEC Schedule A and Schedule B filings for the selected cycle. A committee only appears here if the money was itemized under its FEC committee ID.
| 5,041 contributions · 6% | $80,174 |
| 3,898 contributions · 5.7% | $76,287 |
| 3,486 contributions · 5.4% | $72,887 |
| 2,463 contributions · 5% | $67,610 |
| 2,172 contributions · 3.3% | $44,421 |
| 2,464 contributions · 3.2% | $43,377 |
By the state each contributor wrote on the filing. The FEC aggregates every Schedule A line together, so one committee or organization transfer can account for a whole state. Contributors who have given $200 or less this cycle are not itemized and cannot be placed on a map. The FEC’s grouping also counts joint-fundraising memo lines, so these rows can add up to more than the itemized total.
| Employer as filed | Amount |
|---|---|
| Written instead of an employer · 59,063 contributions · 87% of ranked | $1,096,055 |
| Written instead of an employer · 2,672 contributions · 5.1% of ranked | $64,080 |
| 183 contributions · 0.3% of ranked | $3,727 |
| 1 contribution · 0.2% of ranked | $2,500 |
| 63 contributions · 0.2% of ranked | $2,297 |
| 25 contributions · 0.2% of ranked | $2,252 |
| 87 contributions · 0.2% of ranked | $2,196 |
| 70 contributions · 0.2% of ranked | $1,959 |
A further $68,197 came from donors whose answer names no employer (blank), so it is not ranked. Ranked from the largest 200 of 201 employer spellings filed; each share is of the money in those. Itemized receipts grouped by the words contributors filed. The FEC aggregates every Schedule A line here, so committee and organization money sits alongside individuals; this is not an industry classification. The FEC’s grouping also counts joint-fundraising memo lines, so these rows can add up to more than the itemized total. Gifts of $200 or less ($3,177,938) are not itemized, so no employer or occupation is filed for them.
| Occupation as filed | Amount |
|---|---|
| Written instead of an occupation · 56,358 contributions · 83% of ranked | $1,048,461 |
| Written instead of an occupation · 2,693 contributions · 3.8% of ranked | $48,149 |
| 622 contributions · 0.9% of ranked | $11,750 |
| 284 contributions · 0.9% of ranked | $11,286 |
| 284 contributions · 0.6% of ranked | $7,628 |
| 395 contributions · 0.5% of ranked | $6,407 |
| 32 contributions · 0.5% of ranked | $5,888 |
| 291 contributions · 0.4% of ranked | $4,920 |
A further $68,197 came from donors whose answer names no occupation (blank), so it is not ranked. Ranked from the largest 200 of 201 occupation spellings filed; each share is of the money in those. Itemized receipts grouped by the words contributors filed. The FEC aggregates every Schedule A line here, so committee and organization money sits alongside individuals; this is not an industry classification. The FEC’s grouping also counts joint-fundraising memo lines, so these rows can add up to more than the itemized total. Gifts of $200 or less ($3,177,938) are not itemized, so no employer or occupation is filed for them.
Total itemized disbursements $4,322,406
Every itemized payment the committee reported this cycle, sorted by what it said each one was for. The categories are ours; the wording they are matched against is the committee’s own. Open a category to read the filed descriptions and who was paid. FEC filings through Oct 14, 2026.
All 1,834 itemized payments filed this cycle. Spending below the itemization threshold is not filed line by line.
25 payments were reported as a lump sum, such as a card or payroll bill, with the detail filed underneath as memo entries. Those entries, $317,668 in all, are counted under the payee and purpose they name rather than under the processor that was paid. The total is the same either way.
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| 47 payments · 6% of all spending | $1,049,242 |
| 23 payments · 2.8% of all spending | $494,553 |
| 22 payments · 2% of all spending | $344,088 |
| 21 payments · 1.2% of all spending | $201,134 |
| 293 payments · 1% of all spending | $176,030 |
| 30 payments · 0.9% of all spending | $160,790 |
| 18 payments · 0.8% of all spending | $135,000 |
| 24 payments · 0.5% of all spending | $93,783 |
The people, firms and committees paid the most, across every kind of payment. Each share is of everything the committee reported spending this cycle, not only the itemized payments above. A payee that is itself a committee links to its own profile.