Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DFA Grassroots All-Star Competition?

The DFA 2012 Grassroots All-Star Competition kicks off DFA's non-incumbent endorsements for the U.S. House of Representatives. The goal is to identify the progressive challenger with the most broad-based support from our members nationwide. The winner earns the title of Grassroots All-Star, bringing media exposure and increased grassroots resources to the campaign. This fast-track endorsement is chosen directly by DFA members and others in the progressive grassroots community through two rounds of voting.

What are the competition's rules? How can a candidate win?

The DFA Grassroots All-Star will be determined in two rounds of voting.

Round One: Nominations
DFA members and campaign supporters vote to nominate candidates for DFA's Grassroots All-Star endorsement. The Nomination Round will begin January 19 and end at noon Pacific Time on February 14th.

Round Two: Finalists
The ten candidates with the most nominations in Round One will advance to the second round. Their votes will not carry over. DFA members and campaign supporters vote to decide the winner. The Final Round will begin on February 17th and end at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, February 28th. The winner of the 2012 DFA Grassroots All-Star Competition will be announced to our national membership in early March.

Who is eligible to participate in the competition?
Candidates running for the US House of Representatives, who are challenging a Republican incumbent or running for an open seat are eligible for this competition. Races that involve a Democratic incumbent are ineligible. Candidates running in a district where DFA has already made an endorsement this cycle are ineligible, unless they are the candidate who has been endorsed. Candidates will not be eligible to progress from Round One to Round Two unless they complete the endorsement application. An eligible candidate who is not yet included in the competition can register their interest by emailing political@democracyforamerica.com and applying for an endorsement before the end of Round One on February 14th, 2012 at www.DemocracyForAmerica.com/Application.

The winner of Grassroots All-Stars will be expected to film a video and author an email to DFA's national membership.

Who can vote?

The goal of Grassroots All-Stars is to find the candidate with the most grassroots support nationwide. That means you don't already have to be a DFA member to vote. We encourage campaign supporters to get out the vote for their candidate by asking friends, family, co-workers, or anyone else to join them in casting a vote.

Can votes be gathered offline?

Yes. We strongly encourage any supporter or campaign to gather votes for a candidate offline. However, the campaign or supporter is responsible for entering the votes into the site and must contact DFA's political department before doing so. DFA will require hard copy proof of those votes and the means by which they were collected in order for the votes to count. Hard copies for round one must be received by DFA headquarters by Monday, February 13th at 5PM EST. Hard copies for round two must be received by Tuesday February 28th at 5PM EST. They can be submitted via mail at PO Box 1717 Burlington VT 05402, by fax at 802-651-3299 or scanned and emailed to political@democracyforamerica.com.

Can I change my vote?

Yes. Only the most recent vote from each email address will be counted. In other words, to change your vote to another candidate, just vote again from the same email address.

Do I have to choose three candidates or can I choose only one?

You do not have to pick more than one candidate. If there are only one or two candidates that you support, please only choose those candidates.

How can I vote for more than three candidates?

In this competition, only your first three votes count towards the competition results. However, you can express your support for as many candidates as you like on our endorsements page at http://www.democracyforamerica.com/campaigns. We will make a limited number of congressional endorsements outside of the winners of Grassroots All-Stars. We weigh membership support into our endorsement decisions.

What does winning the Grassroots All-Star Competition include?

The winner of the 2012 Grassroots All-Star Competition will receive:

• The title of "2012 DFA Grassroots All-Star" and DFA's endorsement
• A commitment to raise $20,000 in small donations from our national membership.
• In-state crowdsourcing emails
• A commitment to tap into our national membership to recruit volunteers over the course of your campaign
• An aggregate max-out contribution commitment from Democracy for America PAC over the course of your campaign
• An appearance by DFA Chair Jim Dean at mutually agreed upon campaign events.

Two runners-up will receive DFA's endorsement along with:

• An aggregate max-out contribution commitment from Democracy for America PAC over the course of your campaign
• In-state crowdsourcing emails
• Assistance with volunteer recruitment and continued support over the course of your campaign

Note, all awards are subject to change. Any contributions made by DFA will take into account applicable contribution limits and other DFA activities on behalf of your campaign in order to avoid exceeding the maximum contribution limit.