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Investigates and disrupts the demographics of power in the United States

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Home / Research / Voter Opinion Research

Voters Demand Change: Opinion Research Supports A Reflective Democracy

Updated: October, 2017

  • View the Latest Research

We spoke to voters in 2014, and again in 2017, probing their reactions to our political system, where white men – who are 30% of the population – hold way more power than the 70% of Americans who are women and people of color. Each time, a majority saw our elected officials as an old boys’ club or the 1 percent, and called for a change in who holds power.

  • In 2014, voters understood that structural issues like access to donors and party recruitment practices were blocking women and people of color from elected office.
  • White voters were nearly as likely as voters of color to see structural barriers as an important issue impacting candidates of color.
  • Both Democrats and Republicans supported policies aimed at electing more women and people of color by significant majorities.
  • Voters tend to underestimate just how much power white men hold compared to their share of population.
  • From 2014 to 2017, a larger portion of voters described our elected officials as an old boys club, and wanted them to reflect the face of America instead.
  • 2017 Voter Opinion Research
    View the Report
  • 2014 Voter Opinion Research
    View the Report

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