About Voter Study Group

The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group is a research collaboration analysts and scholars from across the political spectrum examining and delivering insights on the evolving views of American voters.

As the 2016 presidential campaign unfolded, it became increasingly clear that the underlying values and beliefs driving voter decisions needed to be better understood. To that end, we convened a politically diverse group of conservative, progressive, and independent public opinion experts to study the electorate together through new primary research. The group seeks not to achieve consensus, but to engage in discussion about how the views of the electorate are evolving and what the implications of those changes may be.

The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group is led by research director Robert Griffin as well as Democracy Fund's Joe Goldman, and Lauren Strayer.

Analysis & Reporting

Voter Study Group analyzes data through a variety of social and political lenses, and authors reports that convey the resulting insights. Each report represents the views of its respective author(s) and not the collective views of Voter Study Group. However, reports are intentionally reviewed by Voter Study Group members spanning the political spectrum who may comment and advise prior to publication.

Our Research Tools

Voter Study Group consults data from research tools including:

VOTER Survey

Launched in 2016, the VOTER Survey (Views of the Electorate Research Survey) interviews thousands of Americans repeatedly as part of an extensive longitudinal study. It supports in-depth exploration of people's beliefs about important issues and tracks individual-level changes over time.

Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape

Launched in 2019, Nationscape was a research collaboration between political scientists Lynn Vavreck and Chris Tausanovitch at UCLA and Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. It was fielded by Lucid. The survey was designed to reveal in-depth insights on voter attitudes as they took shape across time, place, and demographic groups in the leadup to and months following election 2020. Each week, Nationscape interviewed approximately 6,250 Americans. Over 16 months, these interviews totaled nearly 500,000 and spanned every county, congressional district, and mid-sized U.S. city.

Voter Study Group Participants

Past and present participants in the Voter Study Group are leaders in their fields, bringing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. They examine data and explore voter sentiments in order to help political leaders respond and connect to their needs.

Antoine Banks

Antoine Banks

University of Maryland

Karlyn Bowman

Karlyn Bowman

American Enterprise Institute

Cathy Cohen

Cathy Cohen

University of Chicago

Michael Dimock

Michael Dimock

Pew Research Center

Lee Drutman

Lee Drutman

New America

Emily Ekins

Emily Ekins

Cato Institute

Morris Fiorina

Morris Fiorina

Stanford University

Bernard L. Fraga

Bernard L. Fraga, Ph.D.

Emory University

William A. Galston

William A. Galston

Brookings Institution

Joe Goldman

Joe Goldman

Democracy Fund

Robert Griffin

Robert Griffin

Democracy Fund Voter Study Group

Robert P. Jones

Robert P. Jones

Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement

Taeku Lee

Taeku Lee

Asian American Decisions

Tod Lindberg

Tod Lindberg

Hudson Institute

Brink Lindsey

Brink Lindsey

Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center

Dalia Mogahed

Dalia Mogahed

Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Hans Noel

Hans Noel

Georgetown University

Henry Olsen

Henry Olsen

Ethics and Public Policy Center

Adrian D. Pantoja

Adrian D. Pantoja

Latino Decisions

Alicia Kolar Prevost

Alicia Kolar Prevost

Democracy Fund Voter Study Group

Mayesha Quasem

Mayesha Quasem

Democracy Fund Voter Study Group

Patrick Ruffini

Patrick Ruffini

Echelon Insights

John Sides

John Sides

Vanderbilt University

Lauren Strayer

Lauren Strayer

Democracy Fund

Ruy Teixeira

Ruy Teixeira

Center for American Progress

Ismail White

Ismail White

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Vanessa Williamson

Vanessa Williamson

Brookings Institution

David Winston

David Winston

The Winston Group

Felicia Wong

Felicia Wong

Roosevelt Institute

Publication Disclaimer

The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group project is made possible through support from Democracy Fund. The views and opinions on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Democracy Fund, nor of all Voter Study Group participants.

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