Democracy Needs People Who Show Up With Facts
Resist Now is an independent, volunteer-run civic information and action project based in Texas. We explain what is happening to voting rights, civil liberties, and public money, link every claim to the record, and end with something you can do: a letter, a call script, or an official resource.
We Believe in Democracy. We Think It Needs Help.
Most people can tell something is wrong with how power is being used right now. Fewer know how the system works, what the record says, or what they can do about it. We try to close that gap.
What we publish: plain-language explainers on how power works, briefs on specific developments, state-by-state lookups for rules that vary where you live, and letters and call scripts you can read before you send them.
What we do not publish: candidate endorsements, unsourced claims, conspiracy theories, or content built to manufacture outrage.
This project is for anyone who believes elected officials should answer to the people they represent. We started it in 2025 during the federal worker purges because people kept asking "what can I do?" and there wasn't a good answer in one place.
What We Believe
We believe in democracy that works for the people. We believe in equal rights, LGBTQ freedom, religious freedom, freedom of the press, healthcare as a right, and a government that answers to voters instead of super PACs. We think voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. We think stripping rights from people while calling it freedom is something worth documenting.
Our editorial standard: we cover actions by officials and institutions when there is a documented effect on voting rights, civil liberties, public accountability, or equal treatment under law, and when readers have a real way to respond. We apply the same rules regardless of party or office: primary records where possible, what is known kept separate from what is not, evidence linked, errors corrected.
At any given time, our coverage may lean heavily toward one party or branch. That reflects what is in the public record, not a different standard for different people.
What those beliefs mean on this site:
- Every eligible voter should be able to vote. We explain voting rules, deadlines, and barriers from official sources, state by state.
- Government should be accountable. We link to the bills, court opinions, budgets, and agency rules behind every claim.
- Civil liberties belong to real people. We show what a policy does to the people it reaches, with sourced examples.
- Advocacy should be informed. Every letter asks for one specific thing and names the official, bill, or deadline involved.
Lines We Do Not Cross
- We don't endorse candidates or parties.
- We don't accept money from campaigns, PACs, or lobbyists.
- We don't publish conspiracy theories or unsourced claims.
- We don't use outrage to drive clicks.
Process, Not Pedigree
Every number on this site links to where it came from, right where it appears, so you can check it in one click. We compile that data into charts, maps, and comparisons that make the numbers easier to understand and harder to ignore.
Here is what happens before a page goes up, and after.
- Primary sources first. Court opinions, bill text on Congress.gov, the Federal Register, and agency data outrank news coverage of them. When a news report and the primary record disagree, the record wins and the page says so.
- Every fact is stored with its source and date. More than 1,000 statistics live in one governed dataset with the source, the link, how reliable the source is, and the date we last checked it. When a number goes stale, the build flags it.
- Pages are re-checked, not just written. When we update an explainer we re-verify its facts against today's record, fix dead links, and correct what changed. The "Updated" date at the top only moves when the substance does.
- Letters are checked like pages. Before a letter goes out, we confirm the bill is still alive, the official is still in office, and every number in it holds up, because a staffer can check it in ten seconds.
Corrections. We will make mistakes, and we correct them as soon as we verify them. A material correction gets a dated note on the page saying what changed and why. If you think something is wrong, send us the page, the claim, and the best source you have. We read every report. We do not remove accurate information because it is unpopular, but we will clarify wording that could mislead.
This is civic information, not legal advice. Election rules and deadlines change, so confirm voting details with your state or local election office. For your own legal situation, talk to a lawyer or a local legal aid organization.
How We Decide What to Cover
Two questions decide what gets published. Is there something specific you can do about it right now? And is there a deadline?
A bill with a vote next week beats a policy debate that's months out. A proposed rule with a public comment deadline beats a report with no clear action. If we can't point you to a phone number, a letter, or a comment period, the story usually waits until we can.
Not everything on this site is tied to a single action. Our explainers exist because understanding how gerrymandering works or where dark money comes from makes the action briefs land harder.
Where the Data Comes From
Letters and call scripts are written by our team using evidence from the briefs they accompany. Each letter gives you a specific ask, a subject line, and a body you can copy and send without editing.
Resistbot (resist.bot) is a nonprofit tool that delivers your letter to your elected officials (state or federal) by fax, email, or postal mail. You text RESIST to 50409, paste in the letter, and Resistbot handles addressing, formatting, and delivery based on your zip code. You write it, Resistbot delivers it.
Democracy.io (democracy.io) is a free tool from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that lets you email your House and Senate members directly. You paste the letter, enter your address, and it routes to the right offices. No account required.
Events come from Mobilize, a civic organizing platform. We pull in local events and link back to the organizer.
Legislative data comes from Congress.gov and public government databases.
Voter information links go to Vote.org and state election offices, which have the final word on voting rules. We don't collect or store voter data.
The tools we link to operate independently of Resist Now. We link to them because they help you take a specific action, and we do not control their platforms, policies, or delivery.
Who Runs This
Resist Now's editor makes final publication decisions and is responsible for corrections. The editor has spent two decades building public-facing websites, solving usability problems, and making dense policy readable. Volunteers help with research, writing, and data.
We do not publish personal names, because we live in a state where the things we cover are being actively restricted: voting rights, LGBTQ protections, reproductive freedom, public education. Speaking publicly about them carries professional and personal risk here. What we do publish is how we work: our sources on every page, the date each fact was checked, our corrections, and a direct way to challenge any claim.
Funding. Nobody here gets paid, and the project is self-funded by its volunteers. We run no advertising and take no money from campaigns, PACs, lobbyists, or corporate sponsors. If that ever changes, we will say so on this page before accepting the money.
If a page is thin or a topic is missing, it's because we haven't gotten to it yet. We work on what's most urgent and where there's a specific action to take.
How You Can Help
Use the tools on this site. Send a letter. Make a call. Then send the page to someone who keeps asking "what can I do?"
If you find a broken link, a wrong number, or a fact that has changed, let us know. We'd rather be corrected than wrong.
Help Us Build This
Resist Now is built by volunteers. The site runs on Astro, Cloudflare Pages, and a content system we built for speed.
If you have experience in these areas or are curious about developing skills in them, we'd like to hear from you.
- Front end development: Astro, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Cloudflare Workers
- Web design: Layout, typography, responsive behavior, accessibility
- Copywriting and content strategy: Policy briefs, action letters, explainers, editorial planning
- Research and data: Source verification, data visualization, issue research
Get in touch and tell us what you've built or what you'd like to build.
Pick a Starting Point
Pick one issue. Read one explainer. Send one letter or make one call.