10/3/19, 8)19 AM These 526 Voters Represent All of America. And They Spent a Weekend Together. - The New York Times Page 1 of 44 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/02/upshot/these-526-…_id=00ce41b1d39f7c14aae3da46e6a20528®i_id=8217845tion=topNews By Emily Badger and Kevin Quealy Photographs by Chad Batka and Celeste Sloman Oct. 2, 2019 These 526 Voters Represent All of America. And They Spent a Weekend Together. Abigail Parma, Ohio Adam Owensboro, Ky. Adam Manlius, N.Y. Aimee Chicago, Ill. Ajaree Woodland Hills, Calif. Alan Slidell, La. Alan Quitman, Ark. Alexander Los Angeles, Calif. THE UPSHOT
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These 526 Voters Represent All of America. And …faculty.washington.edu/jwhelan/Articles/These 526 Voters...they’re likely to mute their harshest views and wrestle more deeply with
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10/3/19, 8)19 AMThese 526 Voters Represent All of America. And They Spent a Weekend Together. - The New York Times
Page 1 of 44https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/02/upshot/these-526-…_id=00ce41b1d39f7c14aae3da46e6a20528®i_id=8217845tion=topNews
By Emily Badger and Kevin QuealyPhotographs by Chad Batka and Celeste Sloman
Oct. 2, 2019
These 526 Voters RepresentAll of America. And TheySpent a Weekend Together.
10/3/19, 8)19 AMThese 526 Voters Represent All of America. And They Spent a Weekend Together. - The New York Times
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LauraOwls Head, N.Y.
LauraNew Orleans, La.
LauraRadcliff, Ky.
LaurenJacksonville, Fla.
LaurieLong Beach, Ind.
LeeBloomer, Wis.
LennoxLexington, N.C.
LeSandraAtlanta, Ga.
LeslieWolf Point, Mont.
LianaValrico, Fla.
LindaMonroe, N.Y.
LindaCheney, Wash.
LindaTorrance, Calif.
LindaGoodlettsville, Tenn.
LindyClearwater, Minn.
LisaFarmingdale, N.Y.
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LloydSlidell, La.
LoganPlymouth, Minn.
LondonChicago, Ill.
LonnieFlossmoor, Ill.
LoraWest Plains, Mo.
LorenzoPasadena, Calif.
LoriCornelius, N.C.
LouisQueens, N.Y.
LouisSt. Louis, Mo.
LowellSeattle, Wash.
LucilleAlbuquerque, N.M.
LynnKingston, N.Y.
M. PatriciaWestchester, Ill.
MangoSacramento, Calif.
MargaretSewell, N.J.
MargaretNew Orleans, La.
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MariaAmerican Falls, Idaho
MariaSouth Hill, Va.
MarianneBaton Rouge, La.
MarileeHarriman, Tenn.
MarilynMariposa, Calif.
MarionAustin, Tex.
MarkMaple Valley, Wash.
MarkOroville, Calif.
MarkMiddleboro, Mass.
MarkWestern Springs, Ill.
MarkSomerville, Mass.
MarkMorgan Hill, Calif.
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“I’m sorry, I’m too pigheaded; they didn’t convince me,” said Susan Bosco, a 76-year-old from Democratic-leaning
Northern Virginia, who said that in her daily life she rarely encountered people as conservative as those she had
met here. “I don’t think the purpose of this conference was to change people’s minds. I think the purpose of this
conference was to get people to accept each other’s points of view in a civil manner.”
“I may not have changed my position,” said Bonnie Sumner, 74, from Woodland Park, Colo. “But I’ve changed my
understanding of the woman in the group who said, ‘You know what, I had great health care, it worked for me, and
the Affordable Care Act changed things, and I’m worse off now.’ I didn’t change my position that I think we should
take the A.C.A. and tweak it. But I’ve changed my understanding that there are people who’ve tried their best and
done nothing wrong, and it put them in a worse situation.”
“But you already knew that,” chided her husband, whom she had brought along for the weekend.
“But to me,” Ms. Sumner said, “a perfectly rational person who has no political agenda just said to me, ‘Oh, you
know what, this was bad for me.’”
MarkMilwaukee, Wis.
MarkDana Point, Calif.
MarkusOntario, Ore.
MarthaBrooklyn, N.Y.
MarthaLong Beach, Ind.
MaryDuncanville, Tex.
Mary Mary Mary Mary
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Okmulgee, Okla. Bay Minette, Ala. Marquette, Mich. Colorado Springs, Colo.
MaryGrand Chute, Wis.
MaryIndianapolis, Ind.
MattNampa, Idaho
MattWashington, D.C.
MatthewPlymouth, Wis.
MatthewSan Antonio, Tex.
MaxwellWinona, Minn.
MeghanCambridge, Ill.
MelanieOroville, Calif.
MelinaLas Vegas, Nev.
MelindaCrawfordsville, Ind.
MelviaFort Worth, Tex.
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MichaelSt. Louis, Mo.
MichaelAustin, Tex.
MichaelWest Columbia, S.C.
MichaelClio, Mich.
MichaelLawrenceville, Ga.
MichaelPort St. Lucie, Fla.
MichaelSilver Spring, Md.
MichaelMacon, Ga.
MichelleDenver, Colo.
MikeGreer, S.C.
NadiaLong Beach, Calif.
NancyFort Lauderdale, Fla.
NancyPetaluma, Calif.
NancyChico, Calif.
NancyCathedral City, Calif.
NatalieNew Orleans, La.
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NathanBuffalo, N.Y.
NathanFresno, Calif.
NicoleMonticello, Iowa
NicoleIndianapolis, Ind.
NoahNorth Chesterfield, Va.
NoahLincoln, Neb.
NoreenNewark, Del.
Nour EddineChicago, Ill.
PamalaDenver, Colo.
PamelaAtlanta, Ga.
PamelaManitowoc, Wis.
PatriciaMeans, Ky.
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In fact, some people did change their minds. Public opinion in general is fluid, shifting as issues become more
prominent in the news, or as partisan cues become clearer. But the voters here appeared to shift as a group in some
ways that can’t be explained by typical polling movement over time.
NORC surveyed the group before the conference, and again on the same questions at the end; the results were
compared with a similar panel of voters who did not get an intense dose of deliberative democracy in the interim.
Voters at the event on both the left and the right appeared to edge toward the center. Democratic support receded
for a $15 federal minimum wage and for “Medicare for all”; Republican support grew for rejoining the Paris climate
agreement and for protecting from deportation immigrants brought to the United States as children.
PatriciaEuclid, Ohio
PatriciaFort Smith, Ark.
PattyGregory, S.D.
PaulMacedonia, Ohio
PaulFranklin, Tenn.
PaulRockford, Ill.
PeggyColorado Springs, Colo.
PeterLakeville, Minn.
PeterChicago, Ill.
PhilipCrossville, Tenn.
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RandiEscondido, Calif.
RandyLittleton, Colo.
RaymondSterling, Colo.
RebaVallejo, Calif.
RebeccaGuthrie, Okla.
ReginoldEscondido, Calif.
RenettaChicago, Ill.
RhondaAlbuquerque, N.M.
RichardPensacola, Fla.
RikeyaTulsa, Okla.
RitaLawrenceville, Ga.
RobertBluff City, Tenn.
RobertOswego, Ill.
RobertBrooklyn, N.Y.
RobertCranford, N.J.
RobertMurrells Inlet, S.C.
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Oswego, Ill. Brooklyn, N.Y. Cranford, N.J. Murrells Inlet, S.C.
RobertLewes, Del.
RochellePortland, Ore.
RodneyPhelan, Calif.
RogerWelty, Okla.
RogerBellingham, Wash.
RohitRichmond, Tex.
RollandBig Spring, Tex.
RonaldSimi Valley, Calif.
RonaldPooler, Ga.
RonnieRedlands, Calif.
RosaCatonsville, Md.
RosamariaSan Antonio, Tex.
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RosemarieLebanon, Pa.
RubenSan Diego, Calif.
RuthEureka Springs, Ark.
SallySan Francisco, Calif.
SamPort St. Lucie, Fla.
SamiLincoln, Neb.
SamirCollege Station, Tex.
SandiHarrison, Mich.
SandraParrish, Fla.
SandraCincinnati, Ohio
SanjayNorth Port, Fla.
SarahParkville, Mo.
SarahSunnyvale, Calif.
SarahThree Rivers, Mich.
SchanikaBelleville, Ill.
ScottEast Northport, N.Y.
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These answers, Mr. Fishkin argues, better approximate public opinion in a society where voters are informed. And
from inside this carefully constructed model of democracy in Texas, the share of participants who said they thought
American democracy worked well doubled, to 60 percent.
Many participants described their surprise at finding common ground with one another — a prospect easier to
attain when the questions are about increasing economic security or lowering health care bills, and not impeaching
the president.
SeanCharlotte, N.C.
ShaeGrand Rapids, Mich.
SharonSt. Johnsbury, Vt.
SharonSan Clemente, Calif.
SharonSt. Johnsbury, Vt.
ShawnBerkeley, Ill.
Sheng YangBerkeley, Calif.
SheriJacksonville, Fla.
SherrieCasper, Wyo.
SherryFarmington, Mo.
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StaceyHummelstown, Pa.
StaceyJensen Beach, Fla.
StanleyLincoln, Mass.
StephanieNew York, N.Y.
StephanieFresno, Calif.
StephanieEdinburg, Tex.
SteveAlbert Lea, Minn.
StevenHarriman, Tenn.
StevenTool, Tex.
SusanBolivia, N.C.
SusanChicago, Ill.
SusanSanta Cruz, Calif.
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SusanRichmond, Ky.
SusanFairfax, Va.
SymphonyVirginia Beach, Va.
T JaalinSeffner, Fla.
TamukaOviedo, Fla.
TaraRedmond, Ore.
TarenDowningtown, Pa.
TaylorTexarkana, Ark.
TeresaWestfield, Mass.
TerranceSorrento, La.
TerrellCosta Mesa, Calif.
TheresaTigard, Ore.
ThomasCheektowaga, N.Y.
ThomasBentleyville, Pa.
ThomasPensacola, Fla.
ThomasHolden, Mass.
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ThomasNew Brunswick, N.J.
TiffanyMedford, Ore.
TiffanyCordele, Ga.
TimReidsville, N.C.
TinaBend, Ore.
ToniMarquette, Mich.
ToniWilmington, N.C.
TravisFresno, Calif.
TrevonWindsor, N.C.
TrishaSheboygan, Wis.
TwilaPace, Fla.
TyrusHouston, Tex.
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TyshaunLansing, Mich.
VamsiQueens, N.Y.
VasanthaSan Jose, Calif.
VeronicaLos Angeles, Calif.
VictorFort Lauderdale, Fla.
VikramBound Brook, N.J.
VirginiaMonument, Colo.
WallaceSt. Paul, Minn.
WaveParkville, Md.
WayneNew Orleans, La.
WellsRio Vista, Tex.
WendyFort Leonard Wood, Mo.
WilbertBrunswick, Ohio
WillRockbridge, Ohio
WilliamWalnut, Calif.
WilliamLas Vegas, Nev.
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In principle, there is something hopeful in these findings. But an essential part of what happened here will be
harder to replicate than the structured discussions. Over several meals, a 24-year-old African-American man, a
cashier from Michigan, became close to three 70-something white men in his group. At the bar one night, a 69-year-
old retired nurse from Atlanta bought a drink for a woman she’d just met from San Antonio, who was turning 35
that day.
Everywhere there were unlikely pairings of people, just talking, with no moderators.
And then Mr. Mowrey, the microbiologist from Nebraska, walked away from dinner on the last night to say that the
people around him had, in the end, changed his thinking about something. He considered himself a free-market guy,
someone who believed government should stay out of health care. He now thought that a public option would be a
good idea, no small leap on the spectrum of health care positions. The government could create more competition in
the market, his group helped convince him.
“They explained it to me in the way I think,” he said. And he seemed pleased to have changed his mind.
Everyone on one map
13 Michiganders, including
Mary, Toni and Karen from the
Upper Peninsula
Benjamin from
Sangerville, Me.
Cindy from
Polson, Mont.
Leslie from
WilliamWilmington, N.C.
WilliamLos Angeles, Calif.
ZacharyFairmont, W.Va.
ZahidMooresville, N.C.
ZahraPhiladelphia, Pa.
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Wolf Point, Mont.Maria and Alonzofrom southeastern Idaho
Emily from
Kearns, Utah
Robert from
Brooklyn
74 Californians,
including Kellyfrom San Diego
Karen from
Tucson, Ariz.
Andrew from
Pukalani, Hawaii Kenneth from Key West, Fla.
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About the survey
The registered voters in “America in One Room” were drawn from , a nationally representative panel developed by NORC at the University of Chicago.
The sample was designed to be representative of registered voters by age, race, gender, educational attainment and geography. For many of these variables — likebeing age 40 to 49, or living in New England — the group pictured above closely matches the population of registered voters in America, even without surveyweights. But, without survey weights, white voters were underrepresented (64 percent of the group was non-Hispanic white, compared with 73 percent in censusdata), as were voters who did not attend college (10 percent of the group, compared with 27 percent among all registered voters). And combinations of thesevariables are not necessarily representative. For example, young white voters were underrepresented.
The Times photographed 519 of the 526 respondents who attended the event. Names and locations are based on those reported by the respondents.
Produced by Stephen Reiss, Rumsey Taylor and Josh Williams