Voice of the People

Voice Of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving ‘We the People’ a more effective voice in government. VOP seeks to establish Citizen Cabinets to provide Members of Congress with the deliberated opinion of a representative sample of their constituents. Citizen Cabinet members go through a series of online ‘policymaking simulations’ on key issues, which are vetted with Congressional experts from both parties. Respondents are given a briefing, weigh policy options and competing arguments, then make recommendations that are shared with their representatives and local media. The goal is to bring the values and reason of the people, which Madison thought should govern, into congressional decisionmaking in a way that cannot be distorted by interest groups.

Voice of the People (VoP) is a new non-partisan organization that seeks to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving ‘the People’ a greater role in government. Led by Steven Kull, a leading public opinion researcher at the University of Maryland, VoP is piloting its Citizen Cabinet project in several states and districts in order to provide research to members of Congress on the deliberate opinion of a representative body of constituents on pressing issues. This pilot will test whether it is possible to harness new technology and methods of engagement to give citizens a greater voice and connection with their federal legislators, thereby improving the quality of representation in Congress.