The Jefferson Center started in 1974 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Ned Crosby, political scientist and community activist, played a prominent role in founding the Jefferson Center. When it began the Jefferson Center was called the Jefferson Center for New Democratic Processes and governed by a board of directors and a citizen's oversight panel.

The Center's purpose was to get the average citizen more involved in state and national politics, and to further inform public discourse through that involvement. The juries were developed by the Jefferson Center to help advance this purpose. Citizen juries generally consisted of 18-24 randomly selected U.S. citizens who functioned as a demographically representative sample of the U.S. population.

Meeting usually over the course of four to five days, juries examined prominent issues such as physician-assisted suicide, school clinics, the federal budget, health care, or political candidates. During moderated hearings consisting of discussions, witness testimony and dialogue with witnesses, jurors analyzed the issues in each case and presented their conclusions as verdicts. Jurors and witnesses were compensated for their time.

Conducting a citizens jury on political candidates and elections proved to be the Center's most influential projects and this activity gained national attention in the early to mid-1990s. This activity, however, threatened the status of the Center as a non=profit organization. Non-profits are not allowed to endorse political candidates. Of specific concern to the IRS were the payment of candidate advocates who participated as expert witnesses, their influence on verdicts issued by the juries, and the public perception that the verdicts endorsed one political candidate over another.

In 1993 the Internal Revenue Service informed the Jefferson Center that it would revoke its 501(c)(3) status, retroactive to 1990. The Jefferson Center fought the IRS for three years. In 1996 the IRS agreed to take no action against the Jefferson Center as long as it did not conduct Citizen Juries on political candidates and/or elections.

In 2002 the Jefferson Center closed its office and let its staff go, reducing the board of directors to three. In 2009 the board of directors increased to six. As of 2011 the Jefferson Center is based in Minneapolis with its 501(c)(4) partner, Promoting Healthy Democracy, and has a small staff. Ned Crosby has continued to serve on the board of directors.

Jefferson Center Citizen Juries Date Citizens Jury 1974 National Health Care Plan Citizens Jury 1976 Presidential Election Citizens Jury 1981 Presbytery Project on Peacemaking Citizens Jury 1984 Agricultural Impacts on Water Quality Citizens Jury 1986 Organ Transplants Citizens Jury 1988 School-Based Clinics Policy Jury 1989 St. Paul Mayoral Election Citizens Jury 1990 Minnesota Gubernatorial Election Citizens Jury 1990 Arts in the Schools Citizens Jury 1991 Low Income Housing Citizens Jury 1991 Hennepin County: Minnesota Budget Priorities Citizens Jury 1992 Pennsylvania U.S. Senatorial Election Citizens Jury 1993 America's Tough Choices: The Federal Budget Citizens Jury 1993 America's Tough Choices: Health Care Reform Citizens Jury 1994 At-Risk Children: Yale University Citizens Jury on Campus 1994 Tim Penny Congressional Citizens Jury on Welfare Reform 1994 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election Citizens Jury 1995 Traffic Congestion Pricing Citizens Jury 1995 Hog Farming: Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges Citizens Jury on Campus 1996 State and Local Fiscal Matters: Can we afford the future? Citizens Jury 1996 Comparing Environmental Risks Citizens Jury 1997 Minnesota's Electricity Future Citizens Jury 1997 Issues in K-12 Education: Can we afford the future? Citizens Jury 1997 Dakota County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan: How should we grow? Citizens Jury 1998 Orono (Minnesota) Public Schools: Now and Into the Future Citizens Jury 1998 River Falls Citizens Panel on Electoral Reforms 1998 Physician-Assisted Suicide Citizens Jury 1999 Citizens Jury on Minnesota Property Tax Reform 1999 Citizens Jury on Chatfield (Minnesota) School District 2001 Citizens Jury on Citizens Initiative Review 2001 Citizens Jury on Metro Solid Waste 2002 Citizens Jury on Global Climate Change 2005 Citizens Jury on Community Engagement and Deliberative Democracy 2009 Citizens Jury on Election Recounts SCOPE AND CONTENTS

the majority of the collection consists of records and video recordings regarding individual Citizens Jury projects. Additional materials include general administrative records consisting of board of directors meeting minutes, marketing materials, and financial files as well as files related to an IRS case challenging the Jefferson Center's status as a non-profit organization,

Citizens Jury records are arranged by Jury in chronological order. Administrative records are available for projects on the 1990 Minnesota gubernatorial election jury and the 1993 federal budget. These records reflect the operations involved in managing each project, including the selection of jury members and witnesses.

Jury sessions were taped and video recordings disseminated to news stations and other organizations across the country to increase interest and participation. Hours of footage were recorded during each Citizens Jury and then edited to produce programs that were sent across the country. The video recordings in this collection reflect these projects and the Citizen Jury process.

The best example of this process are the recordings made during the America's Tough Choices jury on the federal budget. The collection includes unedited footage recorded on Beta format with VHS copies.

Other examples include recordings made about the 1990 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign and the 1994 Tim Penny congressional campaign.

Additional video recordings include news highlights, juror interviews, and reports made by various television stations.

Some transcripts are also available for the America's Tough Choices projects on both the federal budget and health care costs.

A set of reports (1982-1999) provides a good overview of the work conducted by the Jefferson Center.