It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and Jeremy Broussard and initially composed of United States Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

In 2020, the mission of the PAC is to elect veterans to public office that "fully support our men and women in uniform.

[8][9][10] During the United States 2006 election cycle, VoteVets.org PAC spent between $1.2 and $2 million (sources differ) trying to influence the outcomes of various congressional races.

[11][12] Senators targeted by the VoteVets' campaign for their support of the Iraq War included Republicans George Allen, Rick Santorum, Conrad Burns, and Jim Talent.

[15] The group FactCheck.org (a self-described non-partisan project of the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania) stated that the ad was misleading because the 2003 Senate budget amendment (on which the criticism was based) made no specific reference to "body armor".

Those included Rick Noriega (D-TX) who ran for Senate in Texas against incumbent John Cornyn, and many who ran for the House, including John Boccieri (D-OH), Michael D. Lumpkin (D-CA), Ashwin Madia (D-MN), Jill Morgenthaler (D-IL), Steve Sarvi (D-MN), and Jonathan Powers (D-NY).

The group endorsed candidates who are not Iraq or Afghanistan combat veterans, including Eric Massa (D-NY), and Gary Peters (D-MI), who had both served within the past decade.

The Action Fund also commissioned a 2006 poll, conducted by pollster Celinda Lake, of troops who had returned from Iraq.

That poll found many troops did not feel they were given what they needed to succeed in Iraq, and even more had faced medical, mental, and financial hardship when they returned home.

At the end of the VoteVets ad, General Wesley Clark says, "So if you see commercials telling you to be afraid of terrorism, remember: It's because of Iraq."

In a series of ads that may have received the most attention for the group, VoteVets.org presented three generals, two of whom were commanders on the ground in Iraq, who became critical of President Bush's execution of the war.

[29] The second major action was a public push for a 21st Century GI Bill, which would boost the amount troops received in education benefits.

Since that time, VoteVets Action Fund has taken on a large number of other issues, including advocating for the close of the prison at Guantanamo Bay,[32] cutting dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels,[33][34][35][36][37][38] taking on predatory lenders that target veterans, repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,[39]  and advocating for the Iran Nuclear Deal, with senior advisor Major General (Ret.)

[49] As part of a $500,000 campaign, variations of the video were shown in a number of congressional districts and also included two other retired generals: Paul D. Eaton and Wesley K. Clark.