ACLU Launches Historic “Firewall for Freedom” Campaign to Protect Crucial Rights Up and Down the Ballot

In 2026, the American Civil Liberties Union will make its largest-ever investment in down ballot races, marking a historic escalation in its “Firewall for Freedom” strategy to protect civil liberties across the country. As part of this new campaign, the ACLU will spend $25.5 million across underfunded but critical state-level campaigns with an outsized impact on American’s rights and freedoms, from key ballot initiatives to state Supreme Court races, secretaries of state races, and state legislative races.

“The ACLU and our millions of supporters across the country have been at the forefront of the fight to protect Americans’ civil rights and liberties, but these freedoms remain under attack both at the federal level and in the states. We need to fight back,” said Deirdre Schifeling, ACLU chief political and advocacy officer. “The Firewall for Freedom campaign will allow the ACLU to stop efforts to restrict reproductive and voting rights and protect our democracy at every level of the ballot. We see where the threats are emerging, and we and our supporters are ready to respond. This is our largest-ever down ballot effort with plans to contact hundreds of thousands of voters across our key states to help protect our fundamental rights and freedoms.”

In recent campaign cycles, the ACLU and ACLU Foundation together have emerged as the largest institutional player in the ballot measure space on issues of reproductive freedom and democracy, with notable victories in Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, Montana, and Ohio.

The ACLU and ACLU Voter Education Fund together have also become one of the biggest spenders in state Supreme Court races. Meanwhile state and local offices have proven increasingly decisive in determining the future of key rights and liberties, including voting rights, abortion access, and LGBTQ rights.

This new $25.5 million campaign is a response to the new threats to civil liberties emerging at every level of the ballot and will be complemented by the ACLU’s national organizing infrastructure that helps educate voters and mobilize communities. Working with the ACLU’s 54 affiliates, the ACLU and the ACLU Foundation will work to beat back ballot measures aimed at overturning hard-fought victories to protect abortion rights and overturning the will of the people, as well as investing in initiatives to protect state courts from politicized judicial selections. The ACLU and ACLU Voter Education Fund will educate voters about important state Supreme Court races that impact civil rights and freedoms and equip them with information about how supermajorities in state legislatures can impact civil liberties across the country.

The Firewall for Freedom effort will target the following races, ensuring they have the resources to educate voters to make informed decisions when so many resources are flooding into federal campaigns:

• Seven ballot measures addressing civil liberties in Montana, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia.
• Supreme Court races in Michigan, Montana, and North Carolina.
• State legislative races in Georgia, Michigan, Montana and North Carolina.
• Secretary of state races in Arizona and Nevada.