In the United States, low voter turnout has been a long-standing challenge, especially during midterm elections. The United States consistently ranks below average in terms of voter participation compared to other developed countries.
DELIBERATIONS.US: Greater Participation is an hour-long deliberation on three proposals for increasing voter turnout. Thank you to our partners at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for making this project possible.
You’ll be a part of an hour-long discussion on a specially designed video chat platform. On this platform, you’ll be assigned to a small, diverse group of fellow Americans. In this group, you’ll learn about the issue, the proposals for change, and the arguments for and against those proposals.
Election day is not a holiday. The idea behind this proposal is to increase access to voting while giving proper recognition to military veterans who have served to protect our democracy by moving election day to Veterans Day.
Same-day voter registration, also known as Election Day Registration, is a system where eligible citizens are allowed to register to vote on the day of the election.
Universal voting is a system where citizens are required to vote in elections. This means that all eligible citizens must participate in the election process, either by casting a ballot or by providing a valid reason for not doing so.
Deliberation for Education
Our deliberations are designed to be integrated into both high school and university-level courses in civics, government, and history. The discussions and briefing materials cover policy proposals, historical context, and pro/con arguments concisely and accessibly for students in high school* and beyond.
Educators should assign the pre-deliberation survey, which includes the briefing videos and booklet, and post-deliberation survey to be completed as homework. The one-hour deliberation can be completed inside or outside of class.
For assistance integrating our deliberations into your classroom, reach out to us at contact@deliberations.us or (202) 455-6309.
*For privacy reasons, those under the age of 13 cannot participate.
2. Before the deliberation, you'll complete a survey, sharing some information about your demographics, politics, and views on the proposals (Why do we collect your data?)
3. At the end of the survey, you'll review our fact-based and balanced briefing materials, which have been approved by an expert, bipartisan advisory board.
4. When the deliberation is scheduled to begin, you'll log onto the platform where you'll be sorted into a small discussion group optimized for political and geographic diversity. The platform will then guide you and your fellow Americans through the deliberation.
5. After the deliberation, you'll complete the survey again, sharing what you think of the proposals after you've discussed them (Why do we collect your data?).