By Olivia Grady

Work for Progress is a nonprofit organization located in Denver, Colorado that hires individuals for nonprofit progressive groups (groups that want to “fight global warming” and “get big money out of elections”).

It also runs campaigns for organizations like Fair Share Action and Environment America Action Fund. Since 2008, its staff has knocked on over 3 million doors for candidates such as President Barack Obama (D), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Not mentioned on its website however is its troubling history of apparent voter fraud.

Two years ago Arapahoe County prosecutors conducted an investigation into 100 cases of voter fraud in Colorado. Two of those accused were Work for Progress staffers Carl Blocker and Michael Michaelis. These men had registered noncitizens who were ineligible to vote in Colorado. Although prosecutors dropped the charges against Michaelis, Blocker was supposed to go to trial. He did not show up for trial and was later arrested.

James O’Keefe in 2012 also investigated Work for Progress. He posed as a middle-aged college professor and suggested to Work for Progress Director Meredith Hicks that discarded ballots should be cast because the other side cheats all the time.

Her response: “I mean, that's not even lying and stealing. If someone throws out the ballot— if you want to fill it out, you should do it.”

She no longer works for Work for Progress according to the website’s staff page.

What is Work for Progress doing in the 2016 election cycle?

Its staffers are recruiting college students in their classrooms to canvass. Colorado Mesa University Professor Stan Heister for example invited a Work for Progress representative to speak to his International Business class about working to elect Hillary Clinton. The Hatch Act however forbids public employees like CMU professors from participating in politics during work hours.

Who funds Work for Progress?

One of its big supporters is the Super PAC Fair Share Action; in fact, they actually share the building they work in. Fair Share Action is affiliated with Fair Share Alliance (Progressive Future before 2012) and Fair Share Alliance Education Fund. Both organizations are funded by Democracy Alliance (DA).

Fair Share Action has contributed more than $620,000 to Work for Progress this year alone. And, Fair Share Alliance paid Work for Progress $1.37 million between July 2012 and June 2013.

Fair Share Action received its money from four groups in 2014:  $500,000 from its Fair Share Alliance affiliate; $500,000 from the political arm of the National Education Association teachers union, whose executive director chairs DA’s board; $125,000 from the America Votes Action Fund, a member of DA’s core “aligned network” portfolio; and $10,000 from the DA-supported House Majority PAC. In 2016, the NEA Advocacy Fund also contributed $200,000 to Fair Share Action, and AFSCME gave $25,000.

In 2012 Democracy Alliance co-founder Tim Gill contributed $250,000 and his Gill Action Fund gave $218,000 to the Super PAC. 2012 supporters also included Environment America Action Fund for $1.8 million and its affiliate Environment America for $551,000.

Union Ties

Unions have donated over $700,000 to the supporters of Work for Progress. This isn’t the first time unions have possibly contributed to voter fraud. Project Veritas released a video in 2010 of the associate director of the New Jersey Education Association Wayne Dibofsky alleging that he allowed voting machines at a union office that was not a voting place.

Colorado is a key battleground state that will determine the results of the election. The state is already examining individual cases of potential voter fraud. As the state looks into these cases, it should also keep an eye on groups like Work for Progress and their union backers that could change the election through voter fraud.