| The history of American partisan politics and the policy making process reveals both the impact of the ballot box on the allocation of government resources and the systemic exclusion of people of color. While the ballot box has given the white population political power, exclusionary practices along with voter apathy have persistently limited efforts for its nonwhite and unmarried population across race. For the purpose of this discussion this population is defined as the Rising American Electorate (RAE)---unmarried women, youth (18-29 years old), African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos---and now represent the majority of eligible adult voters at 52 percent . The focus of this thesis is to investigate the potential impact of the RAE for the benefit of community organizers, governing nonprofits, and smaller nonprofits by focusing on the Rising Massachusetts Electorate (RME) at the state and local level. |
