Civic Participation

PICO federations educate the public on critical civic issues, and provide a means for people to participate in shaping public policy.

PICO's relationship-centric model of organizing develops powerful social networks that have helped register and turnout thousands of new and low-propensity voters.

Voter Empowerment

California PICO affiliates spoke with thousands of voters in 2008 as part of a non-partisan campaign to urge low-propensity voters to vote. Hundreds of volunteers, including many youth, hit the streets and made phone calls to urge these voters to cast their ballot. An independent study found that PICO affiliates increased voting in the communities they targeted in the February Presidential Primary by nine percentage points.

Citizenship Campaigns

L.A. Voice in Los Angeles has teamed up with the national Ya Es Hora Ciudadania campaign to encourage the region's estimated 1 million legal, permanent residents to become citizens and registered voters. With an estimated 3 million immigrants eligible to become citizens in California, there is a tremendous potential to shift the state's electoral landscape and build political power for immigrants. L.A. Voice and the Ya Es Hora Coalition ended 2007 with applications up 115 percent from the previous year's levels.

Building on the success of L.A. Voice, seven PICO affiliates in the San Francisco Bay Area have also launched similar efforts to encourage legal, permanent residents to become citizens and registered voters.  The PICO Bay Area Citizenship and Civic Participation Campaign have sponsored citizenship drives in their member congregations, organized citizenship classes, and conducted trainings to teach them the skills needed to participate effectively in their communities.