The Hidden Vote

Muslims for Trump, Navajo coal advocates, gun-owning LGBT activists – what do they all have in common? They are all minorities in their own communities, and they all confound commonly held beliefs about identity politics.

While polls show that minority voters in general view President Trump and the Republican party unfavorably, these communities are hardly monolithic. A closer look reveals significant divisions within voting blocs that are classified by race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, and these differences can lead to surprising choices. From African-Americans in the deep south to Muslims in the rust belt; Native Americans in the southwest to LGBT members in the Bible belt; these voters until recently remained hidden in plain sight. In a climate where the left and right have become increasingly polarized, this diverse group across the political spectrum may hold the key to a better understanding of how our electorate forms political beliefs.

The Hidden Vote is a documentary series that challenges widespread assumptions of how many Americans choose their local, state, and federal representatives in the age of Trump. What really matters to people? What shapes their values and informs their voting behavior? The series aims to uncover the quirks and surprises in the modern American electorate, revealing that, like many things in the Trump era, politics isn’t always what you’d expect it to be…