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User:DD in DC/Draft VPC changes

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The Voter Participation Center
Formation2003, as Women's Voices Women Vote
Type501(c)3
PurposeVoter Registration and Engagement
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
Location
  • 1707 L Street, NW, Suite 300
Founder and President
Page Gardner
AffiliationsWomen's Voices Women Vote Action Fund
Websitewww.voterparticipation.org

The Voter Participation Center (VPC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States dedicated to increasing voter registration, voting and civic activity among unmarried women, people of color and 18-29 year olds. The organization is based in Washington, D.C.. The VPC designs, tests and carries out voter registration and turnout programs. It also produces research material on demographic and voting trends among traditionally under-represented groups, with a particular focus on unmarried women.

Organization background

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The VPC was founded as Women's Voices Women Vote (WVWV) by Page Gardner in 2003[1] as a nonpartisan project aimed at increasing the participation of unmarried women.[2] WVWV was formed specifically to focus on the "marriage gap," the difference between married and unmarried women in voting rates and electoral choices. They promote the term through their research, arguing that marital status is a key determinant of registration and voting, with unmarried women registering to vote and voting in elections at lower rates than married women.[1]

In 2008, the organization broadened its focus to include the other demographic groups[3] that constitute what it calls the "Rising American Electorate" (RAE), while still retaining a particular interest in unmarried women. WVWV coined the term "Rising American Electorate" to refer to traditionally under-represented groups including unmarried women, people of color and young people who constitute a majority of voting eligible citizens.[4]

In 2011, Women's Voices Women Vote formally changed its name to The Voter Participation Center, to reflect this broadening of programmatic focus.[5] The VPC's sister organization, Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund, continues to operate as a 501(c)4. At the time of the re-branding, The Voter Participation Center launched a new website and logo to reflect the change.[5] VPC has partnered with state and national organizations, including the NAACP, National Council of La Raza[6], United Food and Commercial Workers[7], USAction, Project Vote and Working America, among others.[8] In addition, the organization provides its research material, test findings and models to other local, state and national non-profit organizations interested in increasing voter participation among unmarried women, people of color and young people.[8]

Activities

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Programs

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The VPC's programs focus on increasing voter registration, turnout, awareness of issues and civic involvement of under-represented groups, including unmarried women, people of color and young people. Many VPC programs focus on unmarried women, as this group forms a large proportion of what the VPC terms the “Rising American Electorate” and its research indicates that marital status is a key factor in determining civic participation.[8][9]

Its registration programs have largely focused on distributing applications to register by mail and encouraging their return, and reminding traditionally under-represented groups to vote.[9] The VPC claims that since its inception in 2003, it has helped register more than 2 million voters[10] and that in the 2008 election they generated slightly fewer than one million voter registration applications in 35 states,[11] but these claims have not been independently verified.

The organization is also focused on persuading registered voters to vote; for example, in 2006, they sent registered voters vote-by-mail applications in order to increase participation among voters.[8] The VPC claims that all of its mailing programs are control-group tested in order to increase the cost-effectiveness of their programs.[8]

The VPC also designs and conducts education and advocacy programs targeted at the organization’s primary audience of traditionally under-represented groups. The stated objective of these efforts is to better understand how knowledge, participation and voting are interconnected.[12]

Research

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WVWV released its first two studies in March 2004, one in collaboration with pollsters Anna Greenberg and Stan Greenberg, the other with Celinda Lake.[13] These studies found that single women register to vote and vote at a markedly lower rate than married women and that marital status is a top determinant in whether one registers and/or votes.[13] They concluded that if unmarried women had voted at the same rates as married women in the 2000 election, the numbers would have been enough to have decidedly changed the outcome of the election in favor of Al Gore.[14]

After the 2012 election, the Voter Participation Center released a study arguing that if unmarried women had voted at the same rates as married women in the 2012 election, Mitt Romney would have won 308 electoral votes and the presidency.[15]

The VPC has issued several reports commissioned from Lake Research Partners on the changing demographics of America, tracking the growth, socio-economic characteristics and voting behavior of unmarried women and other traditionally under-represented groups.[16][17][18]

In addition, the group's research has also documented obstacles to voter registration and election reforms best suited to improve voter registration and turnout numbers. According to the group's research, some of the greatest barriers to voter participation include unnecessary rules limiting early and absentee voting, voter identification requirements, and inconsistent state regulations concerning voter lists and registration guidelines.[19] In an effort to focus the attention of lawmakers and election reform groups on these obstacles, WVWV released a report titled, "Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote".[20]

The VPC also focuses on educating policymakers and media on issues impacting what it calls the "Rising American Electorate", including a series of reports produced in March 2010, in partnership with the Center for American Progress. The VPC and CAP papers focused on the impact of legislative issues including healthcare, childcare, paycheck fairness and training in non-traditional professions on the economic security of unmarried women.[21][3] Later that year, in October 2010, the organization released a joint study with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research focusing on voting trends, which found that unmarried women favor Democratic candidates by a 67 percent to 28 percent margin. In comparison, the same study found that married women lean Republican by 52 percent to 40 percent.[22] According to Page Gardner, the study's results suggest that there is not a traditional gender gap between men and women, but rather a gap between unmarried and married women.[22]

In 2013, VPC sponsored a poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research that found that American voters overwhelmingly favor proposals that would provide women equal treatment in the workplace and help them achieve a work-family balance.[23]

Communications

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Many of VPC's most prominent communications efforts have been public service announcements featuring celebrities encouraging women to register and vote. In October 2004, actress Jennifer Aniston recorded a televised public service announcement for the group encouraging unmarried, separated, divorced and widowed women to register and to vote in the 2004 election.[2] In 2007, in preparation for the 2008 presidential election, the organization launched a public service campaign, featuring actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a replica of the Oval Office.[24] In addition, the organization produced the "Our First Time" campaign, which featured well-known women revealing the details of their first time voting.[25] In 2012, VPC sponsored a music video to encourage unmarried women to register and vote. The video was called Let One Voice Emerge (L.O.V.E.) and featured celebrities including Fergie, Patti Austin, Kate Walsh, and others.[26] The video was viewed over 160,000 times on YouTube.[27]

In addition to the commercials, the organization sent out mailings enclosing voter registration forms to unregistered single women voters[9] and also carried out automated calls, informing them that they would receive such mailings. During the 2008 North Carolina Democratic Primary the group received negative attention[28] when it was reported by NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting that automated calls had been made to African-American voters providing confusing information, which may have misled voters to believe that they were not registered to vote.[29][30] Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered the calls to stop, after which the organization apologized, cooperated with Cooper to resolve the mistake,[30] and retrieved over half the registration mailings it had sent out in North Carolina.[29]

In 2006 and 2010, WVWV partnered with the National Women's Law Center to create information sheets for women on voting topics relevant to them.[31][32]

Controversy

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In June and July 2012, it was reported that the organization had sent out a number of voter registration forms to non-citizens, deceased people and pets as part of a campaign to increase voter participation among groups it says are underrepresented, including unmarried women, blacks, Latinos and young adults.

VPC defended themselves by stating that while some mailings were sent in error as a result of imperfections in vendor mailing lists, there was no ill intent. "It simply means there's a mistake in the mailing list," VPC said in a statement.[33] Page Gardner, VPC president, fielded a teleconference call with reporters recently because such a mailing was sent to a dog, Mozart, in Virginia. This occurred because this dog got on a magazine subscription list earlier.“Mozart won't be registering and won't vote,” Gardner said.[34]

Virginia state representative Alfonso H. Lopez also defended VPC in an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, writing, "Any large-scale effort to reach millions of Americans is guaranteed to include some clerical errors and inaccuracies. However, focusing on these harmless errors to attack the efforts of the Voter Participation Center to bring more Americans into our democratic process does the organization an injustice."[35] Cases of this were reported in Florida, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington, and other states.

VPC said in a statement that the organization expected people who were already registered or who received forms in error to simply throw the erroneous forms away. Officials in at least one state said they feared that ineligible persons could be added to the voter rolls as a result.[36][37] In response, VPC representatives cited a study from the Brennan Center for Justice, which suggested that cases of "voter fraud" are very rare and critics are overstating concerns.

References

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  1. ^ a b Page, Susan (25 August 2004). "Married? Single? Status affects how women vote". USA Today. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Jennifer Aniston Urges Single Women to Vote; Public Service Announcement Premieres This Week" (Press release). U.S. Newswire. 4 October 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b Weiss, Liz; Gardner, Page (March 2010). "Advancing the Economic Security of Unmarried Women" (PDF). AmericanProgress.org. Center for American Progress. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. ^ Gardner, Page (4 February 2011). "What about the marriage gap?". Politico. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b "The Voter Participation Center: Engaging, Registering and Turning Out the Rising American Electorate". voterparticipation.org. The Voter Participation Center. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  6. ^ Kaczor, Bill (8 September 2012). "Voter Drives Adopting New Methods". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  7. ^ "4 Million Americans to Receive Voter Registration Materials by Mail in Coming Weeks: Outreach by NAACP, National Council of La Raza, Voter Participation Center & Other Partners". BusinessWire. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e Vanden Heuvel, Katrina (20 December 2007). "Women's Voices, Women Vote". The Nation. thenation.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Wartman, Scott (27 February 2008). "Groups encourage registering to vote". The Cincinnati Enquirer. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ "The Voter Participation Center". voterparticipation.org. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Who We Are". voterparticipation.org. The Voter Participation Center. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Education and Advocacy". voterparticipation.org. The Voter Participation Center. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  13. ^ a b White, Gayle (28 March 2004). "Single women's clout untapped". Atlanta Journal Constitution. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ Jones, Stephanie R. (26 September 2004). "Come here often? -- Apparently not: Single women vote in lower numbers than other demographic group, but that may be changing". The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  15. ^ "Post-Election Analysis: The Rising American Electorate was the Difference". The Voter Participation Center. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Single Americans vote less, but lean towards Democrat: study". Breitbart. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  17. ^ Seeyle, Katharine Q. (28 June 2007). "The Singles Vote". The Caucus. The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  18. ^ Youngman, Sam (29 June 2007). "Report: Unmarried America growing, leaning Democratic". The Hill. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  19. ^ Sweet, Lynn (16 April 2009). "Women's Voices. Women Vote report: Obstacles to voting". Chicago Sun-Times. suntimes.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  20. ^ Thomas, Scott E.; Insley, Alicia C.; Carrier, Jennifer L. (April 2009). "Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote" (PDF). voterparticipation.org. The Voter Participation Center. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  21. ^ Bradley, Tilla (22 March 2010). "The Fate of Unmarried Women in America". Accuracy in Media. aim.org. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  22. ^ a b Terris, Ben (26 October 2010). "All the Single Ladies". The National Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  23. ^ "American Voters Overwhelmingly Support Economic Proposals that Aid Women". voterparticipation.org. The Voter Participation Center. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  24. ^ Parker, Jennifer (6 November 2007). "Sex and the Single Woman's Vote". ABC News. abcnews.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  25. ^ Erbe, Bonnie (27 October 2006). "What would suffragettes say?". Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. p. 11A.
  26. ^ "Let One Voice Emerge". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  27. ^ "L.O.V.E. Let One Voice Emerge: The Music Video". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  28. ^ Sturgis, Sue (2 May 2008). "Center for Investigative Reporting follows Women's Voices political connections". Institute for Southern Studies. Facing South. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  29. ^ a b Overby, Peter (1 May 2008). "Group With Clinton Ties Behind Dubious Robocalls". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Robocall group agrees to $100k penalty in NC". ABC Local. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  31. ^ "Why Women Should Vote in 2006: NWLC, Women's Voices. Women Vote. Unite on Project to Increase Participation From Women on Their Own; 24 Percent of Voting Age Americans Are Women on Their Own" (Press release). U.S. Newswire. 14 September 2006. {{cite press release}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  32. ^ "Voter Education". nwlc.org. National Women's Law Center. 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  33. ^ "VPC Responds to Richmond Times-Dispatch". The Voter Participation Center. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  34. ^ Pimintel, O. Ricardo (4 July 2012). "Group tries to keep voters going to the dogs". MySA. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  35. ^ Lopez, Alfonso H. (10 August 2012). "Lopez: Voter Participation Center should be applauded". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  36. ^ Martin, Aaron. "Bedford County Dead Dog Receives Voter Registration Forms". NBC Local. {{cite web}}: Text "date 19 June 2012" ignored (help)
  37. ^ "Dogs, dead people get voter forms from nonprofit". {{cite web}}: Text "date 13 July 2012" ignored (help)
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Category:Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Participation Center, The Voter

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