News • February 20, 2020

A Note From Equality North Carolina On Our Endorsement Process

In an effort to be as transparent as possible about our endorsement process, we are detailing the process below.
In October and November of  2019, the ENC Civic Engagement and Political Team made a series of announcements (via our newsletter, social media and website) prior to the filing period for public office, inviting prospective candidates to submit an endorsement interest form.

  • Once the Endorsement Process opens: ENC alerts our membership about the start of the endorsement process in our monthly newsletter. We also message about the opening of our endorsement process heavily through social media.
  • Candidates are asked to email the Director of Civic Engagement and Politics to receive the endorsement questionnaire. We understand that some organizations make their questionnaire public -- ours, however, is not made public.
  • The questionnaire contains questions on LGBTQ issues, as well as healthcare, public education, economic justice, preemption, gun violence prevention, immigration, democratic ideals, and policing.
  • After the questionnaire is submitted, the answers are evaluated by the ENC PAC, which is currently made up of 19 people from across North Carolina. The PAC members represent many diverse communities, including people of color, folks from various economic backgrounds spanning an age range of 22 to 71, cisgender, non-binary, and transgender people, and individuals identifying across the spectrum of LGBTQ identity.
  • The PAC has bi-weekly video calls (more when necessary) to discuss each candidate. The PAC may vote to endorse or not endorse a candidate or the PAC may decide to interview the candidate in order to better understand their policies and values. Support for the LGBTQ community alone is not enough to guarantee Equality NC's endorsement. Each race is decided on a case by case basis and the final decision is made by a majority vote of the PAC.
  • Candidates are notified via email of the PAC decision.
  • The ENC Communications Team rolls out endorsement decisions over social media and through email messaging to both press and our membership.
  • ENC's Civic Engagement Team strategically works to help all of our endorsed candidates get elected by recruiting ENC volunteers to phone bank, canvas, register voters, and more.

It is important to Equality North Carolina that all candidates and the public know that we intend to work with all pro-equality endorsement applicants, whether or not we chose to endorse them. Equality North Carolina will always be a resource and support to any candidate looking to learn, grow and make a positive impact for marginalized North Carolinians.

Recent News

The Future of our Movement is You
To Those That Held Us Down:
Thank You!
crossmenuchevron-down