Vote.org sues founder/former CEO for defamation, alleges smear campaign 

Vote.org, a nonprofit voter registration organization, is suing its founder and former CEO over what the group claims is an alleged smear campaign she’s led against the organization since she was fired in 2019.  

The organization filed a lawsuit Monday against Debra Cleaver in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.

According to the law firm McCarter & English, which is representing Vote.org in the case, the lawsuit was filed in Indiana because Cleaver directed much of her conduct toward the organization’s current CEO, partners, and donors who reside in Indiana.  

Since she was fired in 2019, Cleaver has allegedly defamed and disparaged Vote.org and its executive leadership in an effort to discourage donors and partners from working with the organization, according to the lawsuit.

“We filed this lawsuit to safeguard voting access for tens of millions of Americans by stopping Ms. Cleaver’s coordinated attacks on Vote.org,” said Vanessa Avery, partner at McCarter & English and lead counsel for Vote.org. “Since being replaced as CEO in 2019, Ms. Cleaver has defamed the organization and its leadership, infringed on Vote.org’s trademarks, impersonated Vote.org and its CEO in an effort to siphon funding and other support away from Vote.org to herself and a new entity that she created, among other things. There is no reason to believe she will stop until Vote.org secures the court-ordered relief this lawsuit seeks. Ms. Cleaver must be held accountable for the enormous harm she has caused and continues to cause.” 

Cleaver declined to comment on the lawsuit but has claimed the organization improperly and wrongly removed her from her position.

Cleaver founded the organization that became Vote.org back in 2008 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2019. That year, the board of directors unanimously voted to remove Cleaver as CEO and terminate her employment with the organization, the lawsuit states.  

The decision to fire Cleaver was not made lightly and came after a period of high turnover at the organization and multiple complaints by staff accusing Cleaver of abusive behavior, according to court documents.  

It was soon after her termination that Cleaver allegedly began her “vendetta” against the organization. An exhibit attached to Vote.org’s complaint shows an instant message allegedly from Cleaver stating that she has a folder in her possession titled “f*** vote.org.” 

Further communications between Cleaver and her associates show a distaste for the organization on her part, including messages that she “really, truly, deeply want[s] to ruin these people;” and that the members of Vote.org’s board of directors can “chew glass and die,” according to court documents.  

Shortly after her firing, Cleaver formed VoteAmerica, an organization that seeks to increase voter turnout and simplify political engagement, according to its website.  But the lawsuit stated that Cleaver continued to double down on her intent to “ruin” Vote.org despite the existence of VoteAmerica. 

“Cleaver’s actions defamed and attempted to discredit Vote.org and its leadership to donors, partners and vendors, discouraging them from continuing to work with Vote.org, and impersonating Vote.org and its CEO via email to disparage the organization,” according to court documents. 

The lawsuit stated that Cleaver told donors and third-party partners of Vote.org that the organization wouldn’t be able to continue its planned work with them since Cleaver had been removed.  

She also allegedly promoted a narrative that she was improperly and wrongly removed from her position at the organization.  A lawsuit against Vote.org alleging her wrongful termination was later withdrawn with prejudice, accor.

Cleaver also submitted a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against Vote.org’s CEO and her husband accusing them of false conduct, according to court documents. The complaint was later dismissed. 

In June 2024, Vote.org received an email from a partner organization saying that Cleaver filed a formal complaint against Vote.org, accusing the organization of engaging in conduct that violated the partner organization’s code of conduct.  

That same summer, Cleaver sent an anonymous letter to donors, stakeholders, the parents of Vote.org’s CEO, and the head of an educational organization’s board of directors, which Vote.org’s CEO serves on, stating that Vote.org was “currently being investigated by the IRS for misappropriating funds,” and was “involved in litigation with a former employee,” according to court documents. 

The Sept. 8 lawsuit stated that both of those allegations are false.  

In May, Cleaver allegedly impersonated Vote.org and its CEO by sending an email to harass a newly hired employee and disparage the organization. The lawsuit claims Cleaver sent the email from a “proton.me” account, which is hosted by a Switzerland-based company that allows users to anonymously create encrypted email accounts.  

In July, Cleaver submitted complaints to at least four offices of state Attorneys General accusing Vote.org and its CEO of fraud and private inurement. Cleaver also accused Vote.org of paying “excessive compensation” to its CEO and stated that a lawsuit against Vote.org by a former employee was pending, according to court documents.  

Politico published a story detailing the complaint and the ongoing battle between Cleaver and Vote.org. In it, Politico said it received the 28-page complain, which accuses Vote.org of defrauding voters in part by inflating the number of voters the organization said it could register in 2024.

Cleaver said the organization had no legitimate plan to “deliver on its pledge to register 8 million voters for the 2024 cycle,” and that its actual goal was to stay afloat, attract donor attention, and retain relevance through the illusion of scale,” Politico reported.

Cleaver’s complaint also accuses Vote.org of inappropriately using donor money to pay for Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey’s personal travel, noting that expenses on Vote.org’s “travel conferences and meetings” totaled more than $275,000 in 2023.

The case is Vote.org v. Debra Cleaver, 1:25-cv-1776.