Clinton School student John Vollertsen (’13) partnered with Democracy Corps, a non-profit political research and strategy organization, to create a blueprint for increasing political participation among historically underrepresented groups.
Vollertsen analyzed survey and focus group data obtained on three demographics — unmarried women, young people under the age of 30 and minorities — to learn about their economic circumstances and better understand their policy preferences and vision for America’s future.
According to the Voter Participation Center, these groups collectively represent the fastest growing demographic, accounting for 95 percent of all growth between 2008 and 2010, and now make up a slim majority at 53 percent of the electorate. They are also the most likely groups to be unregistered to vote as 71 million of these voters did not vote in the 2010 election.
“It is impossible for a democracy to function properly when it lacks the voice of any of its members,” said Erica Seifert, senior associate at Democracy Corps and supervisor of the project. “In America, the fastest growing segments of society have not been fully engaged in choosing their leaders. That has real policy implications and we hope this project will be one of many steps in addressing that.”
The recommendations that Vollertsen has created will provide a starting point for understanding these voters and one that will allow the creation of policy options that reflect the interests of these hardest-hit groups and that resonate for them politically.
A former intern for the U.S. Congress and volunteer coordinator in the 2008 Obama campaign, Vollertsen spent the past summer in Ethiopia with Clinton School colleague Stephen Bailey creating films aimed at mobilizing communities around a set of development projects. He has a long commitment to grassroots organizing and democracy.
“Working with Democracy Corps has provided me with valuable insight into the role of public opinion in the formulation of national policy and political strategy,” Vollertsen said. “It was a pleasure to work on such a significant issue, at such a significant time and with a firm that is an international standard bearer in this field.”
Democracy Corps was pronounced the most accurate national pollster in the last three weeks of the 2012 election by Nate Silver of the New York Times FiveThirtyEight.
Vollertsen’s work with Democracy Corps is the final of three required field service projects he has completed in the Clinton School’s Master of Public Service program. The program is designed to create leaders with expertise in the non-profit, government, and private sectors.
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