Composition of the Electorate

Because the American Electorate Should Represent the American People

Download Representational Bias in the 2014 Electorate here.
Download Representational Bias in the 2014 Electorate here.

Low-income and minority citizens—both significant portions of the American population—are historically alienated from the electoral process. As a result, the proportion of the U.S. population that registers to vote and that does vote is highly skewed towards Whites, the educated and the wealthy.

These disparities in the electorate weaken our democracy and skew the national agenda by excluding from major public policy decisions the voices of the least powerful and most vulnerable citizens.

Project Vote research documents these disparities, and works to close the gaps by encouraging voter participation among underrepresented populations, and eliminate unfair barriers to voter registration and participation.

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By Accepting the Conventional Wisdom on the Deficit, Obama Is Ignoring the Lessons of 2008

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As a Project Vote study notes: "individuals who voted for the first time in 2008 strongly favor an active role for government in ensuring economic fairness and educational opportunity." Read more

California Exceptionalism: Kamala Harris Makes It a Clean Democratic Sweep!

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According to an analysis of the 2010 mid-term elections by Project Vote, at the national level, the voters that put Barack Obama in the White House back in 2008 stayed home. Read more

The 2010 electorate: Old, white, rich and Republican

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The 2010 elections turned into a rout of the Democrats because the elderly and wealthy surged to the polls, according to a new report from Project Vote. Read more

It’s Not the End of the World — 7 Things Progressives Need to Keep in Mind About Last Night’s GOP ‘Wave’

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The GOP’s gains in last night’s elections are part of the predictable rebalancing that occurs between presidential elections, rather than ideological shifts in the electorate. Read more

Building Ranks of Young Voters, and Poll Workers

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A study, released last month by Project Vote, found that citizens under age 30 made up 21 percent of the adult citizen population in 2008, but only 17 percent of the voters. Read more

Hanging on to the youth vote

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The enthusiasm of the 2008 presidential election is lagging on a larger scale in 2010, especially for youth voters, according to Project Vote. Read more

Poll: Extremist ‘Tea Party’ Represents Minority Fringe Views, As Media Ignore Majority Opinion

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The political positions of those describing themselves as sympathetic to the "Tea Party" represent a vast minority view, according to a new poll commissioned by Project Vote. Read more

Poll: Vast majority of tea party participants are white, wealthy and affluent

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In a survey of Americans who voted in 2008, the nonpartisan group Project Vote found that, by and large, those sympathetic to the tea parties were white, wealthy and affluent people, whose political views represent approximately 29 percent of the electorate. Read more

One-third of all voters want more government spending, poll finds

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While anti-spending rhetoric dominates the air waves, a new poll by Project Vote found that roughly one-third of voters from the last election support more government spending.  Read more

Obama’s Forgotten Base

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A new poll from Project Vote of 2008 voters is a refreshing corrective to the Tea Party narrative. Read more