A Greater Society

A GREATER SOCIETY follows a group of retirees in a community of 7500 who vote in Broward County, Florida. At first glance, it’s just another retirement community where elders go to enjoy their golden years relaxing by the pool and taking ceramics classes, but look further and you’ll see that the people who live in this community share something unique: the power to have a real impact on national politics. It’s the 2014 midterm elections and these residents feel the weight of democracy on their shoulders. In one of the most influential counties of America’s largest swing state, these political kingmakers trade their golf clubs for clipboards and hit the pavement to get out the vote. Many of the residents are former public school teachers who live on pensions and Social Security, and rely on Medicare. They worry about the future of these programs as well as public school funding, and they wonder if future generations of teachers and other middle class and lower income workers will be able to retire as comfortably as they have. This is why they feel so passionate about voting. This election – on record as having the lowest voter turnout in 72 years - will change the course of history at a time when the retirees featured in A GREATER SOCIETY experience dramatic changes in their own lives.