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Better Questions, Better Decisions Voter Education Initiative
Posted on September 23, 2004
A new initiative from Natasha Freidus, Producer of Lean on Me:
The Problem: 100 million eligible citizens do not vote. And in one of the most tragic ironies of our democracy, low-income Americans, who are so directly affected by decisions made by elected officials, participate the least in elections.
A Potential Solution: The Better Questions, Better Decisions Voter Education Initiative offers a non-partisan, skill-building educational strategy engaging more low-income citizens as voters that can complement existing approaches. Many voter participation efforts focus on the important logistical work of getting information out to a target audience, getting people registered and getting them to the voting booth. This initiative starts at an earlier point by investing in people's ability to make their own connection to the value of voting. Through a series of simple exercises that build sophisticated critical thinking skills, low-income citizens discover new links between their lives and the value of voting. This is an essential, but often overlooked, first step that makes it far more likely that a non-voter will make it to the voting booth.