State Voices

The demographics of America are changing rapidly. The Census Bureau predicts that people of color will comprise the majority of the American populace by 2045. However, laws creating gerrymandered districts; and that disenfranchise targeted communities, disproportionately affect communities of color, plus youth, single women, disabled and LGBTQ populations in terms of both participation and representation. Marginalized members of our society are now facing unprecedented and growing income inequality as a result even as this population increases. This makes it dramatically more likely that the interests of these groups will go unrepresented in civic debate, potentially contributing to a cycle of further disengagement. This is no coincidence; in a democracy, voices that are not heard have no power. Without a fundamental paradigm change, as the demographics of America continue to shift, these inequities will only worsen as they affect greater percentages of the population, concentrating power and privilege in the hands of an ever-smaller few.

State Voices’ priority is to unify New American Majority (NAM) partners around a common agenda to strengthen our democracy, to fortify organizations and their leaders, and to amplify the voices of underrepresented and marginalized communities. Founded in 2008, State Voices plays a unique role as a national leader in utilizing one of the most effective approaches to creating large-scale change: Collective Impact. State Voices has adapted this model to ensure maximum cross issue and sector collaboration, and we continue working to perfect the practice in order to unify change agents from different sectors around common goals that strengthen our missions, build the capacity of partners with shared resources, and amplifying NAM voices.

State Voices plays a crucial role as the strategic and shared resources hub; or, the national backbone organization in this model. With a network commitment to the seamless and continuous coordination of electoral base-building, and issue advocacy strategies – our 23 state Tables and more than 900 network partners produce increases in life long voters, increased capacity of community-based organizations and their leaders, and win on issues that affect impacted communities.

State Voices believes there should be no barriers between citizens and the ballot box, and imagines a future where every eligible American participates in a way that ensures equitable representation in all facets of government. We also believe that such representation begins with a fair and accurate decennial Census, which forms the basis for reapportionment and redistricting. We are reimagining and working to modernize our electoral process and systems to make it easier for all Americans to register, vote at every opportunity, run for office and/or petition elected officials who represent them and the interests of their communities.

To learn more, please visit: www.statevoices.org