What is Voices of America?
First there were the arguments about who had the prettiest wife. Then, who had the tiniest hands.
And as the greatest democracy on earth held its big national conversation, a chasm grew between what matters and what was actually discussed. Our Voices of America project attempts to put that right.
Climate change became little more than a punchline, foreign policy degenerated to a question of who would, or would not, kick Isis’s ass the hardest.
We chose this moment, now that primary season is over, to take a breath and try to communicate to the world how Americans are feeling in the middle of a wild election year.
Across the country, we have been asking American voters what really matters to them – in questions online, in person as they went to the polls, and in discussion groups on campuses, in restaurants and in their homes.
We learned that people are ready, bursting almost, for a serious and substantial conversation. They want to talk about jobs and wages, about debt and greed, about policing and education, inequality in all its forms, the stuff of people’s lives and the sort of country they want to live in.
What we did
More than 1,500 American voters have given us insight into the issues they care about most.
First, reporters covering primary season contests in the snows of February and the sunshine of June interviewed dozens of voters in person – from Trump supporters to Bernie backers. You can see them and read their views on our site.
Then we asked visitors to Guardian US to tells us about the single most important issue to them. This part of the exercise was not scientific; it provides a vivid range of opinions, from 1,385 people across all 50 states, but it is not weighted like an opinion poll to mirror the demographics of the US.
With that in mind, we arranged a series of six discussion groups: in swing states Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Virginia; in red state Texas; and in blue state New York. We spoke with white male Republicans in Cleveland, Latinos in Orlando, black students in Virginia, older women in Dallas, millennials in Albany, and working mothers across Colorado, hoping to hear the authentic voices of groups who will help decide the November elections.
This week our reporting takes us to California, Florida, North Carolina and Washington DC, in pursuit of some of the issues raised by voters: the impact of climate change, big money in politics, chronic homelessness, and the squeezing of the middle class.
Where do we go from here?
As the campaign shifts to the general election, we cannot – must not – turn away from the lecterns and microphones, the inevitable Twitter feuds and the attack ads. The contest for the White House and for control of Congress is too important.
We shall be testing the candidates’ ideas, rigor and integrity. Who has a vision for the US and the world that they can articulate, and a strategy to deliver it?
But away from the horse race, where Americans live, the issues that count every day should no longer be overshadowed by the cult of personality. The public have grievances which must be redressed.
We want to continue to hear from you, our readers, to be guided by your concerns and to illuminate what really matters. We’ll be inviting you every week to add your voice on the big questions before the US decides on election day.
