Every Voice Counts: Why Your Participation Matters More Than Ever
03/31/2026
Over the last year, Jordon Peugh, our current president, worked hard to lead a governance task force charged with starting the conversation whether our structures still fit the moment we’re in… more on that later. What I realized during this process was how important leadership is—and how important organizations are that allow people to grow into leadership tasks.
Many organizations that are part of AAPOR have flat hierarchies not able to promote outstanding employees, but those employees can and do step up in other places when running for office or serving on a committee. Many organizations are stuck in their ways, but serving at AAPOR allows shaping the field in ways that even responsible employers cannot do equally quickly.
And if you continue this thought forward, every one of you—by being a member of AAPOR—shows leadership, because you commit to an organization that is committed to setting standards and best practices so that valid and transparent data about behaviors, attitudes, and characteristics enables informed societal decision making. In days where decisions happen fast, are data driven, and are increasingly automated, having you all in it is more important than ever.
Our Nomination Committee worked hard this year to put together a slate that captures the real breadth of our membership—quiet voices alongside longstanding ones, people new to AAPOR leadership alongside those who’ve been at it for years. I’m grateful to everyone who agreed to run, because putting your name forward is not a small thing, and showing appreciation by actually voting is one concrete way we can honor that willingness to serve.
Turnout matters, of course, but what matters even more to me is that people who have never voted in an AAPOR election vote this time. New members especially. If you’ve been on the edges, wondering whether your voice really counts here, this is how you make it count.
Your vote shapes where this organization goes, and with the new Council leading a conversation about AAPOR’s future governance and whether our structures still fit the moment we’re in, that shaping is not abstract. We are all in this together.
Warmly,
Frauke Kreuter
AAPOR Past President