About Long Distance Voter

Long Distance Voter 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in California.  We do not support or oppose any political candidate or party. 

Mission and Background

Long Distance Voter is the internet's most comprehensive resource for registering and voting by mail.  Long Distance Voter aims to simplify the absentee voting process by gathering all available information in one place and organizing the data into easy-to-read voter guides.  Prior to Long Distance Voter's launch, there was no centralized resource for absentee voting information.  The founders of Long Distance Voter spent over 10 months gathering forms, writing absentee voter guides, and building the site.  The staff realized that voter registration is an essential part of the absentee process, and incorporated voter registration information and tools into the site, and into each voter guide.  

Methodology and Site Accuracy

We started gathering our information in January 2008. The bulk of our information was taken directly from the Secretary of State websites, and when information was lacking or confusing, we called the states directly.  The information on Long Distance Voter is rigorously fact-checked.  Long Distance Voter volunteers work with Local Election Officials across the country to make sure every form and is current, and that every legal requirement is up-to-date.

Meet the Staff

Long Distance Voter is a volunteer run organization staffed by committed folks who happily donate their nights and weekends to voter outreach efforts.

Debra Cleaver, Founder & Executive Director
Debra cut her political teeth in 2004 working with Swing the State, a voter outreach and mobilization group.  From 2004-2008, she investigated allegations of police misconduct for the City of New York, and concurrently served as the Union Shop Steward for DC37, the nation's largest municipal employee union.  Debra filed and won a group grievance, which lead to the largest settlement payout in the agency’s history. Debra has since fled New York for Los Angeles, where the weather is nicer and the public transportation is less reliable.  Debra manages the technical aspects of the site, handles our online advertising campaigns, secures strategic partnerships, and coordinates our day-to-day activities.  Debra holds a BA from Pomona college, and is proud of her status as a permanent absentee voter.  

Carl Snodgrass, Associate Director
Carl Gavin Tewksbury Snodgrass (yes, that’s his real name) is the Associate Director of Long Distance Voter.  He was part of the small core group that gathered the data and built the content prior to LDV's launch in early 2008.  Carl assists in all day-to-day LDV affairs, including strategic planning and partnerships, communications, public relations, quality checks and information updates, and content development for the website; he also oversees customer service and direct voter assistance.  Prior to joining LDV, Carl worked investigating allegations of police misconduct for New York City, where he first met LDV Founder and Executive Director Debra Cleaver. 

Carl graduated summa cum laude with a BA in philosophy and a minor in Japanese from Lewis & Clark College in 2006 and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society.  He is a classically-trained pianist and enjoys playing and writing music, as well as building things and painting.  Born in California and raised in Portland, OR, Carl currently lives in Philadelphia.

Tom Riccobono, Chief Financial Officer
Tom handles the accounting for Long Distance Voter. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from New York University.  When he's not balancing the books for LDV, Tom puts his degrees to use by teaching math at a public high school in Brooklyn, NY, where he has also has served as his school's representative to the Delegate Assembly of the United Federation of Teachers.  In the past, Tom has worked with Swing the State, a voter outreach and mobilization group, and is extemely excited to once again be helping voters excercise one of their most important rights.

Cassie Gruenstein, Director of Communications
A nonprofit professional with 12 years of experience, Cassie Gruenstein is an expert in development and communications strategy and major donor fundraising. She is President of Cassie Gruenstein Consulting, specializing in communications and fundraising campaign planning for organizations and individuals working creatively to make change for the common good. Considering how far women have come in politics since winning the vote in 1920, Cassie is tickled to use the power of the wondrous internet in the present day to help bring Long Distance Voter's online resources to oodles of new voters. Cassie organized LDV's first fundraising drive before the 2008 election, paying for advertising that directed more than 16,000 visitors to the site. She joined Long Distance Voter as Communications Director in 2010. Cassie is a graduate of Pomona College and the Marin Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership’s Emerging Leaders Program. With roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, she is currently exploring her cowgirl side in Austin, Texas.

Sheena Otto, National Coordinator
Sheena made her first splash into politics at her mother's side as they volunteered for Jesse Jackson's 1988 Presidential Campaign.  She continued along her political path in 1997 as a White House Intern, and a White House Volunteer through 1998.  From 2001 - 2007 she was an investigator for New York City, investigating allegations of police misconduct.  Upon leaving city service, she aided the NYCLU in their research and recommendations to improve civilian oversight of the New York City Police Department.  In 2006 she joined Swing the State, a voter outreach and mobilization group.  Sheena has been a core member of Long Distance Voter since its inception.  When she is not expending every effort to make Long Distance Voter a household name, she teams up with local animal rescue shelters for adoption events, and balances her philanthropy by working for a private investment fund.

Tara Mancini, National Coordinator
Tara, a Providence, Rhode Island native, is an alum of Rhode Island College, where she earned her B.A. both in Sociology and Justice Studies.  After serving the City of New York for a few years, she decided it was time to return to school.  She recently relocated to Washington D.C. where she is earning her M.A. in Sociology.

Suzanne Metzger, National Coordinator
Suzi, a Massachusetts native, now works as a labor attorney for a union in New York City. She is an alum of Smith College and Western New England College School of law, and has experience with grass-roots and union organizing. Suzi will be taking advantage of a NY absentee ballot this year, as her baby boy is due November 4th.

Corinne Ball, West Coast Coordinator
Corinne comes to Long Distance Voter with over a decade of experience connecting people with ideas and action.  Years of on-the-ground community organizing experience and a love all of all things tech have led to new love: furthering progressive campaigns online.  Corinne has worked on local, state-wide, national, and international campaigns with various organizations over the years.  She has been trained by organizations like MoveOn and Envirocitizen, served for four years as the executive director of Oregon ACORN, and currently serves as Online Communications Specialist for ForestEthics.  Corinne sporadically updates her blog, and has a soft spot for environmental justice, civic engagement, and taking in stray animals.  After running the largest voter registration drive in the state of Oregon in 2004--adding over 22,000 voters to the rolls--she is thrilled to again help connect voters to their ballots.

Elora Miller, New Media Marketing
Elora hails from Apia, Samoa. She was educated at a radical Muslim madrassa in Saudi Arabia, and later obtained her BA in History from Brown University. Elora works in health care planning/strategy as an analyst & primary researcher, and has several years' experience volunteering with issue-based advocacy groups promoting public art and alternative transportation. She first connected with GOTV in 2004, recruiting poll workers and coordinating poll watchers in the Florida panhandle. Her cats are named She-Ra and Jacob, and she rides a Redline 925.

Elena Morin, Northeast Coordinator
Elena is from New York City, where she is a public school aide and library worker. She is completing her BA in English and Spanish at CUNY Hunter Coilege. During the last national election, Elena organized voter outreach trips to Pennsylvania with Driving Votes. This year, she is voting absentee from Argentina, where she is currently on exchange, using the fabulous resources at Overseas Vote Foundation.

JP Reader, Northeast Coordinator
JP has lived his entire life in New England.  He completed a multidisciplinary degree at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.  JP joined the staff at Brown University  in 2005.  There, he worked on the campaign to keep the Brown Bookstore an autonomous enterprise, and helped prevent absorption into a corporate chain.  In addition to his work at Brown, JP is a freelance graphic designer, cartoonist, writer and troubleshooter.  Off hours, he is an aggressive reader, ardent bicycler and dedicated vegan.  JP Reader lives and is active in Providence, Rhode Island.

Deborah Berkman, Counsel
A New York City native, Deborah is counsel for Long Distance Voter.  As her day job, Deborah works as a civil rights lawyer, litigating cases against city, state and the federal governments.She earned her B.A in Political Science and Women’s Studies from University of Wisconsin at Madison , and earned her J.D. from Fordham School of Law.Deborah has extensive experience in voter enfranchisement and worked as an election monitor to protect Florida voters in the 2004 presidential election.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for their continued support: Kim Rogers and Heather Smith (RocktheVote.com); Matt Lerner and Jesse Kocher (CountMore.org); Michael Peshkin (VoteBackHome.com); Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat (OverseasVoteFoundation.org); Liba Rubenstein, Clea Driscoll-Shearer, Ben Goodman, Angie Allgood and Ryan Hartigan (MySpace.com); Will Yardley (technical support); and Yobie Benjamin (outreach).