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A comment on Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout. Parent comment

Re:Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 10... by hackuser on Tuesday May 17, 2016 @06:55PM (#11718289)
> the will of the people only influences change when it coincidentally is aligned with special interest will

I'm not sure what this means: If many people support something, is that a 'special interest'? Or won't there inevitably be a special interest supporting the same issue?

Also, do you have some research that supports this claim? I have seen research that lobbying's greatest power is to stop things from changing - i.e., to maintain the status quo.

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Re:Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 10... by cloudjacker on Wednesday May 18, 2016 @11:01AM (#11722436)
There is one paper worth reading, I was able to retrieve it from sci-hub:

http://sci-hub.bz/10.1146/annurev-polisci-100711-135308

tl;dr The most effective lobbying groups are typically supported is heads of large organizations acting independently of the rest of the organization or actual people. Estimating effectiveness has challenges in an empirical study but here are our attempts anyway.

There is another paper that shows the outcomes of public policy issues that stirred public interest. I want to find that one.

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