US Rep. Keith Ellison: Voter Participation Is at Historic Lows. It’s Time to Rethink GOTV.

One in three. That’s how many people eligible to vote actually did in 2014. It was the lowest turnout since World War II.

We’ve seen the results of declining turnout. Democrats have lost 910 state legislative seats since 2008 and have only 18 governors. Republicans have the biggest majority in Congress since the Truman administration.

I am launching a Voters First program to put voters at the center of our politics with effective grassroots organizing and a commitment to increasing turnout. Voters First aims for a resurgence of civic participation to take back the states and the Congress. Today, I’m calling on campaigns to commit to run by Voters First principles. I’m also asking for individuals and groups to endorse our effort at votersfirstcampaign.com.

What is Voters First? A Voters First campaign commits first to boost voter turnout by 3 to 7 percent over the last comparable election cycle and invest in field to achieve this target. There is an ideological gap among voters. According to a Pew poll, 78 percent of consistent conservatives vote, but only 58 percent of consistent liberals do.

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Our democracy is in trouble when issues supported by the majority of Americans, like increasing the minimum wage or passing immigration reform, can’t even get a vote in Congress. Our voters are demoralized and unengaged when only 36 percent turn out to vote. It’s up to all of us to make voting count again. The solution is to put voters first. ................(more)

http://www.thenation.com/article/210385/voter-participation-historic-lows-its-time-rethink-gotv