We tell the truth—even when it’s hard
Analyst Institute recognized Vote Forward’s commitment to transparency with the inaugural Malchow Award
We're honored to share some big news: Vote Forward has received the inaugural Malchow Award from Analyst Institute, the premier organization working with pro-democracy campaigns and organizations to run experimental tests, and serving as a clearinghouse for evidence-based best practices.
Named for Analyst Institute co-founder Hal Malchow—a pioneer in testing and sharing what doesn’t work to uncover what does—this award “honors organizations that strengthen community learning by sharing results that challenge assumptions, including null and negative findings” and “whose candor and rigor help the whole field move forward.”
This recognition means a great deal to our team. But in truth, it’s not just about Vote Forward staff members.
It’s about the volunteers and supporters who power this work every step of the way, writing letters, testing new ideas, and engaging in the hard work of strengthening our democracy.
From the beginning, the Vote Forward community has done things differently. We’ve never been content to assume that what’s worked in the past will always work in the future. That’s why we’ve built our programs on scientific testing and committed ourselves to sharing all of our results—good, bad, and in between—with the entire community.
That’s not how most organizations operate. Many only share their successes, and only with insiders. But we believe Vote Forward's whole grassroots community deserves to see the full picture—because only with your help can we test and improve the voter engagement tactics that'll win elections now and in the future.
In 2024, we ran a large-scale letter writing campaign in which tens of thousands of volunteers mailed nearly 10 million letters. After the election, we found that while our original “surge voter” targets showed little to no boost in turnout, a broader group of low-propensity voters did respond with an estimated 9,000 additional votes—more than the margin that decided control of the House in 2022 and 2024.
Then we published everything—on our website, in the Analyst Institute repository, and with volunteers and donors alike—including the parts that didn’t go the way we hoped. We also announced a massive expansion of our work based directly on these results, with plans to test even more tactics like in-person and digital organizing, and new iterations on letter writing.
That kind of transparency and flexibility is the only way the pro-democracy community is going to learn, grow, and innovate moving forward.
So winning this award isn’t just about patting ourselves on the back. It’s about validating our belief that telling the truth, even when it’s complicated, is a strength, not a liability. And it reaffirms our commitment to putting volunteers and grassroots supporters at the center of this work. Because you’re helping define what works—and what doesn’t—for the entire pro-democracy movement.
We know that the challenges we’ll face in 2026 and 2028 will demand even more from us. So looking ahead, we’re doubling down.
We’ve announced a multi-year program to test new, innovative voter mobilization tactics and iterate for impact. Vote Forward’s hundreds of thousands of volunteers and grassroots supporters will be at the center of all of it.
We can’t thank our community enough for everything you do, from writing letters and testing bold ideas, to donating your hard-earned dollars to support all of it. We truly couldn’t do it without you.
