Making Democracy Work > Roosevelt Home > Roosevelt Challenges > Making Democracy Work
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click "Participate," "Request to Join." (You must be logged in to do this.) If you would like more information about the Challenge, email Coordinator Matthew Segal.
The Challenge: restore government of the people, by the people, and for the people in America.
The United States rest upon the idea of representation. We select our leaders because if we didn't, our government wouldn't reflect our values. Today, millions of Americans don't vote because their vote isn't reflected in policy, and their values are misrepresented. And when some of us are misrepresented, all of us are misrepresented. When barriers stand in the way of American voters, barriers stand in the way of truly "public" policy. When the electoral process is imprecise, the government is imprecise. Before we can effect real change, we must make our votes count. The Roosevelt Institution seeks the ideas of citizens to accomplish just that.
Voting is the cornerstone of democracy, the means for a representative government,
the voice of the people, and mode for political, social, and economic expression.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the vote “the most powerful instrument ever
devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which
imprison men because they are different from other men." U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith
put it more bluntly: “freedom unexercised may become freedom forfeited.” Given its
sacred and imperative nature however, the following facts seem paradoxical: in a list of
countries tabulated by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance,
the United States ranks 139th in voter turnout percentage, far behind nations that lack such
basics as paved roads and running water. According to the U.S census, national voter
turnout has averaged approximately fifty-four percent in the past three presidential elections.
And most disturbingly, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic
Learning and Engagement, only 25 percent of young citizens (ages 18-29) voted in the
2006 Midterm Election.
The least participatory demographic, youth (citizens ages 18-29) are the future—not
just as decision makers—but as consumers, benefactors, entrepreneurs, inventors, educators,
and leaders. The youth of today are uniquely positioned to make vital decisions in an age of
technology and globalization, as well one of international terrorism and global warming.
Unlike prior generations, the participation and decision-making of this current one will
therefore considerably, if not inevitably, affect the entire world. With such colossal
responsibility, it is essential to ensure a largely engaged populous, and to thereby take
steps at institutionalizing voter participation within our education and cultural systems.
By joining this challenge you can seek to do the following...
Potential avenues for further exploration
Please email Matthew.Segal@rooseveltinstitution.org if
you are interested joining a select round table of student
experts and media spokespeople for this challenge.
 
 
Group members:
Matthew Segal
Norm Kaufmann
Jaclyn E Allen
Laurie Anne Hughes
Thomas H Au
Jonathan L Backer
Elana Baurer
Charles Bittermann
Nick R Bradley
Bobby Campbell
Blake M Carpenter
Emmanuel Caudillo
Gracye Y Cheng
Brenden Cline
Bryce G Colquitt
Kirti Datla
Tony T Dong
Natalie C Doss
Eva H DuGoff
Tarsi V Dunlop
Andrew Feldman
Matthew D Fischler
Hallie B Fox
Julie Geng
Emily Grieves
Stephanie A Gross
Adrian D Haimovich
Ata R Hindi
Chris R Holdgraf
Caitlin N Howarth
Jared Irmas
Isabella Jacoby
Arthur Kaneko
Rakiba Kibria
Colin A Koffel
Sylvia Lee
Mark H Madsen
Zach Marks
Cloie E McClellan
Alyssa A Meyer
Vrutika A Mody
Elizabeth L Norris
William A Organek
Jonathan Pichot
Katie Ranney
JJ Raynor
David W Richardson
Ernesto Rodriguez
Linda S Rosen
Kali J Rubaii
Kali Rubaii
Matthew R Samson
Nicholas R Santos
Mike Simmons
William L Slack
Louie Sloven
Eric Smith
Stephanie A Somerman
Laura Temel
Brad Tidwell
Rebecca L Yarbrough
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