We are deeply troubled by the profound sorting and polarization of our country – and the concerning implications for our democracy.  Today, ours is not truly “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” as envisioned by Lincoln – because it cannot be, with the vast majority of Americans living in overwhelmingly politically segregated communities where their votes are not particularly meaningful. The result is that the voices of too many Americans are simply not heard, which both sours citizens on actively participating in our democracy and means that the views of the American people too often are not reflected in the halls of power.

Fortunately, it does not have to be this way…and it doesn’t take a constitutional amendment or an act of Congress to make a change.

That’s why we founded PowerMoves, which is the only organization capitalizing on internal migration within the U.S. (about 25 million Americans move every year!) both to un-sort our country and to help ensure that more Americans (regardless of their politics) are able to cast votes that will have a real impact. After all, having a truly impactful vote necessarily means living in a district that is balanced politically, which is to say a district where, for example, your neighbor (and friend) might well be a member of a different political party. 

We identify people who are moving and helping them to choose – and relocate to – toss-up districts where their rights will be respected, where their lifestyle priorities will be satisfied, and where their votes will be highly impactful on issues which are important to them.

Toss-up districts are, by definition, competitive, so candidates cannot get elected if they only appeal to the people holding extreme views within their communities. Instead, successful candidates in these districts are much more likely to be moderate in their views, seeking to find common ground and to appeal to the broad middle, rather than tilting sharply to the left or the  right.