Meeting
Basic Needs

Opportunites
to Prosper

Responsible
Government

Causes of Poverty

Search

Voice in Democracy

In Brief

The 2000 US Census found that voter registration and participation rates drop consistently as household incomes decline. It speaks to the difficult realities of people’s lives, but there are also barriers to voting that can be taken down to make participating easier.

Poverty Action’s voter campaign works to ensure people with lower incomes receive the same level of encouragement and engagement in the electoral process. In 2004 we launched a pilot project that increased voter participation by 16% among people with lower incomes. We are also working to advocate for changes in voting laws to better enable systems to be more open and responsive to the needs of people with lower incomes.