The Pluribus Project Announces Game Changing Innovations to Disrupt How Political Campaigns Are Won with Cross-Partisan Network of Campaigners, Political Scientists and Entrepreneurs

NEW YORK, April 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pluribus Project, a non-partisan initiative with the Aspen Institute dedicated to building the political power of the many, announces a portfolio of Political Game Changers and launches a campaign on Indiegogo to raise additional funds for that portfolio.  The portfolio includes political campaigners, entrepreneurs and researchers from across the ideological spectrum who are each developing new ways of making our political campaigns more responsive to broad public interests.

"Elected officials tend to heed who they need to win as candidates on election day.  That's human nature, and today, winning means relying on moneyed-interests or the most passionate extremes of the electorate.  But what if we could change who they need?" said Pluribus executive director Lucas Welch. "We believe there is an opportunity to develop an alternative way of campaigning that relies on a broader cross-section of the electorate – what we call for short a 'People Powered Playbook' – that would make our political system much more responsive to broad public interests as opposed to big donors or the angriest and most intransigent among us."

Pluribus assembled a network of leading campaign experts from across the political spectrum to identify the most promising strategies for changing what it takes to win and issued an open call for related research and innovations.  Over 120 projects applied to an open call and 14 projects were selected. The Political Game Changers include:

• research by the lead digital strategist in three successive Republican presidential campaigns to increase turnout in primary elections so elected officials are more reflective of their electorates
• an open-source application to improve volunteer canvasing developed by an active military serviceman and adopted by the Sanders campaign so all campaigns can deploy people power more effectively
• a mobilization effort by the largest libertarian student group to install ad-blocking software and engage in online fora so they make decisions by informed discourse instead of political advertisements
• an online peer-to-peer platform for Walmart employees to communicate and organize in a distributed manner.

Heather Smith, former President of Rock the Vote and a senior advisor to the Pluribus Project said, "Our society is undergoing a number of tectonic shifts – whether they are technological shifts, demographic shifts, or socioeconomic shifts.  These shifts are upending one sector after another, and the political campaign sector is no exception.  The way campaigns are won ten years from now will be very different than it is today.  The projects in the Pluribus Portfolio present innovative opportunities to change the way the game is won so it works more effectively for the many and not just the few."

In addition to providing initial financial support to the projects, Pluribus is mobilizing additional resources to get the projects off the ground and will sponsor rigorous third-party research to assess their impact.  The Indiegogo campaign will not only help the project participants get the funding they need but also provide an opportunity for the many to help restore the integrity of their system of representation. 

The campaign launches on April 5th and will last for 32 days. Backers will have the opportunity to support the various projects directly through Indiegogo and get other experiential perks that will support the project as a whole.

Contact: Jeff Sadosky / Senior Vice President / Forbes Tate Partners / Email / (202) 638-0125

SOURCE The Pluribus Project

Related Links

http://pluribusproject.org