The Voter Formation Project was a left-of-center voter mobilization organization launched following the 2020 election by Tatenda Musapatike, a former Facebook employee focused on political ads, to use digital advertising to boost Democratic candidates. The organization advocated for increasing voter registration in minority communities in order to increase the support for Democratic campaigns. ^{1 2}

On June 1, 2025, the organization ceased operations while dismissing all voter-related activities and laying off its staff. In an email sent out to supporters on May 21, the group announced the closure was in order for the group to, “reassess how to execute our mission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.” ³

Background

The Voter Formation Project was formed in 2021 by Tatenda Musapatike, who previously worked at Facebook as a political ads specialist before leaving to join the Democratic-aligned Acronym advocacy network as director of campaigns. Musapatike also led the People’s Power Grab campaign at Acronym, which opposed election integrity laws. ²

Musapatike left Acronym in 2021 to found the Voter Formation Project and claimed the group would fill a gap for “digital-only” voter outreach by functioning as a “digital ad” agency. The group further claimed it would initially target registration efforts within states such as Texas and Virginia. ²

Activity

Between 2021 and 2022, the Voter Formation Project claimed to lead voter outreach ad campaigns that reached 1.7 million people in Texas and 1.7 million people in Virginia. ⁴ The organization also claimed that through testing a traditional form of political advertising and a more social media culture-oriented form, they found that the latter performed better in terms of registering potential voters. The organization further developed an online tool to register voters and provide ballot information using such ads. ⁵

The organization previously accepted donations through ActBlue Charities, a left-of-center fundraising platform. ⁴

On May 21, 2025, an email by group founder Tatenda Musapatike was sent to subscribers which claimed that, “as of June 1, 2025, Voter Formation Project will be suspending our activities and dismissing our staff to reassess how to execute our mission ahead of the 2026 midterm election.” ³

1. “Press.” Voter Formation Project. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.voterformationproject.org/press
2. Hatmaker, Taylor. “The Voter Formation Project puts an experimental spin on reaching Black and brown first-time voters.” TechCrunch. March 17, 2021. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/17/the-voter-formation-project/
3. Musapatike, Tatenda. “Voter Formation Project Update + Impact.” May 21, 2025.
4. “The Voter Formation Project A Year In Review.” Voter Formation Project. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.voterformationproject.org/post/the-voter-formation-project-a-year-in-review
5. “Our Research.” Voter Formation Project. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.voterformationproject.org/our-research