Name: Matt Brown
Age: 30
Position: Executive Director, The Democracy Compact (the organization is sponsored by the Providence Journal; the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce; CVS; Taco, Inc.; and the Rhode Island Broadcaster’s Association. Other supporters include the Rhode Island Foundation; the United Way of Southeastern New England; Textron; Hasbro; OSO.com; Johnson & Wales University; The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company; Bank of Newport; and Bell Atlantic.)
Background: Helped to establish City Year in 1993 and served as its executive director from 1995 to 1998; visited South Africa in 1998 to study its election system.
Education: Columbia University (1992); Yale University Law School (expected to graduate 2001)
Family: Single
Residence: Providence
MATT BROWN: ‘Decline in voting is one of the most severe social and political problems of our time.’
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
PBN: How did The Democracy Compact come about?
BROWN: On March 23, 40 leaders from around the state – business leaders, non-profit leaders, faith leaders, community leaders, people from all backgrounds – came together and determined that as a group they needed to do something to address this 40-year decline in voter participation, in Democratic participation across the country.
How deep is the problem – this decline in voting on the part of the American public?
The problem is one of the most severe social and political problems of our time – a 40-year dramatic and steady decline in political participation, Democratic participation in voting. Since 1960 it has declined steadily across all demographic groups, age groups, race groups – except for the World War II generation. Every other group has declined in voting — to the point that in 1996, it was the first time that fewer than half of America’s eligible voters actually voted. In terms of the future, it looks bleak because younger voters are the worst. Eleven percent of 18 and 19-year-olds voted in 1996 in the presidential election.
So it is only the World War II generation that is really voting in strong numbers?
That is the only group that hasn’t gone down. And the studies show that it is not just because they are older and wiser. It’s not that when we get to be that age, we are necessarily going to vote. It’s what that particular generation went through – with the Depression and the war and the appreciation for Democracy that came from that. They fought for it.
Should we be moving rapidly to learn from that group – before we lose them?
Absolutely. I think Tom Brokaw’s book is right on, about them being The Greatest Generation. This is just another example of something we need to learn from them. I think they appreciate what it is to be a citizen in a Democracy – they appreciate Democracy because they fought for it. And practically, they’ve seen good results from voting. The elderly get 30 percent of the federal budget. The AARP and elderly across this country are extremely well organized and effective at voting and influencing government. Every other group in the country has a lot to learn from them. I’d love to find a way with this program to tap their knowledge and their wisdom.
What is the mission of The Democracy Compact?
Our mission is to reverse this 40-year decline in the country by making Rhode Island the most voting state in the country and then a model for American Democracy.
Has Rhode Island had that same 40-year decline?
Rhode Island tracks pretty much the same. We were right in the middle in 1996. We were the 24th most voting state in the country – in terms of the percentage of eligible voters voting. We had 52 percent of our eligible voters voting. Maine was number one with 72 percent. The national average was 49 percent. So our goal is to make Rhode Island the most voting state in the country. Not this election, but not too far into the future, either. In one or two election cycles, we’d like to see us as the most voting state in the country. If we get good results this November, I think there would be a lot of enthusiasm from other states to replicate this model. Our goal this November is to get 75,000 new voters to go to the polls. New voters meaning anyone that did not vote in 1996.
How exactly do you plan to do that?
We started by asking people who do vote, why they vote. To a person, every single one of them said it was because my mother, father, brother, sister, coach, teacher, mentor or someone they looked up to at some point sat them down and told me why it was so important. Based on that simple idea, we designed a program of person-to-person outreach. The way it works is that we want to identify 150 leaders throughout the state – presidents of colleges and banks, clergy members, community leaderswe’re looking for influence-makers, people who other people listen to. We’re bringing this group together as the top tier of leadership for this program and they are called Democracy Fellows. They will be mentors, experts, and educators on this upcoming election. We bring that group together June 29 for a training and strategy session. The main toll we will have for them is a Democracy Kit. It’s going to help make arguments as to why voting is important, including the local, state and federal issues at stake. Secondly, it’s going to include strategies to get more people involved. That group of 150 Fellows will go out over the next six weeks and they tap their own network – people they know and see every day. The each recruit a minimum of 25 more people. That creates a second tier of leadership of 3,750 Democracy Captains. That group we bring together September 16 for a training and strategy session – it will be a rally with some big speakers. That group goes out over the next six weeks up to the election and uses the same person-to-person strategy, people they know. They get a minimum of 20 new people to go to the polls. The main thing they will use to do that is a Pledge to Vote card. Part of the problem with voter education drives is that they address the first part of the process which is getting people registered to vote – and that came out of the Civil Rights movement. That’s critical and it has to keep happening, but now the reality is that about 80 percent of Rhode Island’s eligible voters are registered. They’re not voting. That’s typical around the country. Of course, on Election Day, our Fellows and Captains will lead a massive Get Out the Vote drive.
Why should people vote?
The most important reason is that it impacts their basic needs, their day-to-day life. When I was in South Africa, right after I left City Year, I was lucky enough to become friends with the chief recruiter of the African National Congress. She had been the chief recruiter when Mandela was in jail, before free elections. And so this, of course, was an outlaw organization at the time. She said to me; ‘We did not go into the townships and recruit people by talking about Democracy and freedom. We went into the townships and talked to people about water and electricity.’ So we’re not going to go out and recruit people for this effort by talking about some abstract idea about Democratic participation. We’re going to talk about health insurance, schools for children — our safety. For young people, we’re going to talk about finances for college. That’s been the main breakdown of this process. People are not making the connection between voting and their own day-to-day lives. So we’re going to make those arguments.
We are a state made up of small businesses. Small business owners are notorious for working long hours. Six or seven in the morning to 8 p.m. is not uncommon. Then we have more families than ever with both parents working, rushing home for dinner and a bedtime routine. When are folks like this going to vote?
That’s a great question. But before they are even going to be able to vote, when are they going to be able to follow the issues and get informed. That’s a commitment. We found that when we started this program, what people said was that they were working harder than ever. They are working more hours – four or five more – each week, than they were 20 or 30 years ago. They have said that they don’t have the time to participate, to read the news on these issues. So we knew we had to figure out how to take this to the people – and the people are at work. One of the things we are doing with the Fellows is to have them take this issue right to the workplace. So if we have a Fellow who is president of a corporation, we’ll work with that person to run an education outreach program at the corporation. It’s very similar to what the United Way does. We want to go where the people are.
I think it’s fair to say that our presidential candidates – Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush – have thus far failed to ignite much excitement for the race for the White House. Doesn’t that hurt your efforts?
It certainly helps to have candidates who get people energized. But if you look at Maine and see that it is the most voting state of the country – part of the reason for that is that Maine has a real small town culture. My assessment of this is that people are voting on local issues because they can see those issues. It is apparent how they impact their lives. In these small towns you know the people on the school board and you see the schools every day. You know what is going on at the hospital and who is making decisions about health care. Local and state issues are at least as compelling as a national campaign. So in addition to national issues, we’re really looking hard at what local issues are at stake. Especially in Rhode Island, where there are 39 cities and towns, often elections are won by 100, 200 or 300 votes. You feel a little bit more your impact. But also, in a Democracy, the people get what they demand. If people are energized and engaged in the process and informed and ask hard questions, they are going to force candidates to say interesting things. They are not going to be able to get away with 10-second or 30-second answers when the citizens are informed and engaged. You know in the last election here, there were dozens of unopposed legislators. That’s on us. That’s on the voters. We’re letting that happen. If we are not happy with the candidates, that is our responsibility. We need to get involved and demand more.
Do you need help from the major political parties – should they be uniting to call for better voter participation or is that something that would never happen?
We do want to work with the parties come October, in putting together some local town meetings. But this effort is really driven by a citizen movement. It’s a group of civic leaders from all different background and with all different political beliefs.
There are any number of worthy causes out there. Why did you choose this one?
I was raised to believe that the Democratic process was important. I was raised to believe that public service was a good thing. My mother came out of the Civil Rights movement. She had a sense, coming out of that movement, of real power. She and the young people then always took credit, saying; ‘We ended a war. We got rid of a President. And most importantly, we got Civil Rights for blacks.’ There was a real sense of getting things done through the political process. I was always brought up to believe that was the case. And in fact, that’s how you get the most important stuff done – by working with government through the political process. That was always sort of in my blood.
Do you still believe that?
Absolutely. There was the idea in the early 1980s – that it was a cynical time – that it was the ‘me generation.’ But that just wasn’t rue. When we challenged people and gave them some structure, people came out and started giving back. Now they are giving back in record numbers. The New York Times did a front-page story in January that said that 70 percent of young people are doing some kind of regular service. That’s more than ever before in the history of the country. I’ve learned from that. That kind of change is possible. Even with the deepest cynicism you may face, if you really tap into a person’s better nature and challenge them – people want to do the right thing. But the second thing we have learned is that while people are doing more service, they are doing less and less in terms of voting and participating in the political process. So people have not made the connection between community service as a kind of citizenship and voting and political participation as a way of practicing citizenship. Looking at those trends made we realize that we had to do something directly to get people involved.
How did your visit to South Africa shape your approach to this challenge?
When I went to South Africa in the spring of 1998, I went partly with that question. It was interesting to ask in a new Democracy – which do you think has more impact, community service work and the non-profit sector or government and the public sector? Obviously, it is a false choice. Both are important. But it is interesting to think about, how they have an impact. I put this question to a family I met in a township outside of Cape Town. It turns out the husband was with the education department of the South African Government and his wife was the leading education (national officer), so there was a bit of a family feud about which had the greater impact. At one point the husband raised his voice and said to his wife; ‘We really appreciate the help and we couldn’t do it without you. But it is only government that has a mandate to see to the welfare of the people. In this county, it is only when we lost our government that we were jailed and only when we got it back that we were free.’
Now our country is not facing the same kind of crisis as South Africa, but the principle holds true. The basic structure of society is our relationship between the government and the people we elect. No matter how much community service we do, if we utterly abandon the Democratic process, it’s a dangerous road.
