NRP was co-founded by Cynthia Wallace and Helen Probst Mills. Both ran for office in rural North Carolina and saw that large numbers of registered and unregistered voters in rural communities simply did not vote. Recognizing the significant impact of this on improving lives through the electoral process, they decided to tackle this issue head on. At the core of the New Rural Project is the belief that democracy thrives when citizens exercise their civic rights to the fullest possible extent. Such a democracy would see a maximal turnout of voters in every demographic group in every election.