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Reflective Democracy Campaign

Investigates and disrupts the demographics of power in the United States

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Democracy Facts:

Minority Rule

Five orange stars and one white star overlays an illustration of the US. The US is made up of orange, white, and light blue dots. Some dots are larger than others.
  • All Facts
  • Who Leads Us?
  • System Failure
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Six stars - five orange and one white - on a dark blue circular background.

We broke the news about white male minority rule, the de facto system of government in many states and in Congress. Even as voters seek change, an outdated status quo beats back progress, while courageous candidates take on systemic barriers with unprecedented success.

Minority Rule

15 of our state legislatures are 90% or more white.

This is progress. Just a decade ago, 22 state legislatures were over 90% white!

Icons of 15 states, including Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming and Utah.
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Minority Rule

In Ohio, where 24% of the population are people of color, 98% of elected county officials are white.

A pie chart with a large 98% white wedge and a small 2% dark blue wedge.
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Minority Rule

White men are 30% of the population, but 67% of the US Senate.

A column chart showing that white men are 30% of the population but 67% of the US Senate.
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Minority Rule

What do Louisiana & New York have in common?

In both, white men are less than 1/3rd of the population, but more than 2/3rds of state and federal elected officials.

Louisiana and New York
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Minority Rule

In Mississippi, white men are 28% of the population but 57% of state legislators.

Bar chart showing 28% of white men in the population of Mississippi and 57% of the state legislature. The shape of Mississippi is in the background.
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Minority Rule

In nine state legislatures, women hold fewer than 25% of seats.

That’s progress. Just a decade ago, women held fewer than 25% of seats in 14 state legislatures.

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Find Out More

Structural advantages give white men more power than everyone else — yet when voters have choices, white male minority rule starts to ebb.

A glitched orange map of the US. Overlaid on top is a white triangle with an exclamation point in the center.
System Failure: What the 2020 Primary Elections revealed about our democracy
Three rows of women's faces. Over their mouths are white stripes.
Abortion Bans and Minority Rule

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The Reflective Democracy Campaign is a Project of the Women Donors Network.

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