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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Arianna Huffington Cites Project Vote Research on the Dangers of Alienating First-Time Voters from 2008

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Today on The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington cites Project Vote’s recent research memo, First-Time Voters in the 2008 Election, to... Read more

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

New Research Memo Sheds Light on First-Time Voters

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New voters played a decisive role in the 2008 election, according to a new research memorandum by Project Vote Research... Read more

Research Memo: First-Time Voters in the 2008 Election

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In this research memo, Lorraine C. Minnite examines trends among new voters in 2008, particularly the surge in turnout among minority an low-income voters. Read more

Research Shows Americans Aren’t As Conservative as Right-Wing Claims

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Following the 2010 elections, conservative pundits declared America a “center-right nation” with 42 percent of voters now identifying as “conservative.”... 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

Non-Voters Were the Majority in 2010, Says New Study

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“It is fair to say that 2010 was the year of older, rich people.” That’s the conclusion of a new... Read more

Project Vote Releases New Analysis of Who Voted (and Who Didn’t) in 2010

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While the 2008 electorate was the most diverse in American history, and voters gave the majority of their votes to Democrats, the 2010 midterm election experienced unusually high participation from older and wealthier voters who strongly favored Republican candidates, according to a new analysis released today by Project Vote. Read more

Upcoming Analysis Finds 2010 Electorate is “Old, White, Rich and Republican”

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Today, McClatchy Newspapers gave a sneak peak of Project Vote’s exit poll analysis of the 2010 electorate. The study, which... 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