The Challenge
America faces an unprecedented democracy crisis rooted in political polarization and gerrymandering. Fortunately, extreme polarization is not a given – and it doesn’t take a constitutional amendment or an act of Congress to make a change. We, the people, have the power to do so – and it’s well within our reach.
The Ingredients for Change
Forty million Americans move every year; approximately seven million of them are entering and graduating college students. Importantly, many of these millions of voting-age students will be moving – either to start school or upon finishing school. And every one of them has the capacity to dramatically change the shape of our democracy. First, as they choose their schools and, later, as they choose their new homes following school, they have the potential to help un-sort our country and to help ensure that more Americans cast votes that will have a real impact. They have the power to depolarize our country – without compromising any of their other moving priorities.
Our Voter Impact Index
PowerMoves’ unique Voter Impact Index (V-Impact) educates citizens (especially students!) on the projected impact of their vote in any zip code. V-Impact is a non-partisan index, which assigns to every zip code a voter impact score that is calculated based on the competitiveness of three federal elections (President, Senate, House of Representatives) and three state elections (Governor, State Senate, State Assembly).
V-Impact’s Value to Incoming and Outgoing Post-Secondary Students:
- One out of four high school students consider state policies and politics when picking potential colleges1. V-Impact enables these students to factor in their vote impact, as well as state policy, as they choose their schools.
- The majority of college students choose to live on/near campus, and they have the right to register to vote there – but, as an alternative, they retain the right to vote where they lived prior to college. This puts college students in a particularly powerful position, as they can choose to vote where their vote has maximum value. V-Impact empowers students who are registering to make a truly informed decision about where to register based on their V-Impact score.
- Graduating seniors not only need to decide what comes next but also where they want to pursue it. Many graduates will choose to move to a place where they can meet their lifestyle priorities and maximize the impact of their vote, if they have easy access to this information. PowerMoves’ V-Impact to the rescue!
Why This Matters Now
When citizens concentrate in politically homogeneous areas, it enables extreme policies to take hold, unchecked. But change is possible. By guiding movers toward increasingly competitive districts, PowerMoves is helping to restore a competitive democracy that encourages citizen engagement and pragmatic governance and protects fundamental rights.
Those seeking more information about PowerMoves may be directed to PowerMoves.Vote and may reach out to their team at info@powermoves.vote.
Note: BridgeUSA is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit organization. Any reference to another organization does not constitute endorsement, co-sponsorship, or legal partnership, and the views expressed by the referenced organization do not necessarily reflect those of BridgeUSA.