How Well Did We "Get Out Her Vote?"

The midterm elections have flown right by and we are all settling down from the excitement that came along. Many students nationwide mobilized to get out the vote and encouraged their fellow peers to be active citizens by casting their votes on election day.

The Feminist Majority Foundation’s “Get Out Her Vote” campaign clearly laid out what was going to be at stake if young students didn’t go out to vote in this year’s midterm elections. GOHV focused on issues that really resonated with college students, especially with young women: reproductive rights, marriage equality, immigration, the environment, and access to higher education were going to be on the chopping block if we didn’t educate and mobilize ourselves on ballot measures and congressional representatives. With propositions on state ballots ranging from abortion restrictions (Prop. 62 in CO), to the possible elimination of environmental protection and green jobs (Prop. 23 in CA), it was imperative that young people organized and voted!

So did the midterm elections bring young voters out to the polls this year? The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) found that “an estimated 20.4 percent of young Americans under the age of 30 voted in Tuesday’s midterm elections, compared to 23.5 percent in the last midterm election (2006).” Almost nine million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 voted and current research shows that youth participate when they are asked to do so. Even though the youth voter turnout decreased from the last midterm election, we still proved that our voting block should definitely not be underestimated! The more we encourage others to engage with the civil process of voting, the more we undoubtedly affect the outcomes of our respective elections, including the upcoming 2012 election which is right around the corner!

It is important to recognize the power that youth have in transforming our political landscape, but we also need to acknowledge that we need more women representing us on both state and federal levels. Women are more than half of the nation’s population and the 2010 election results say otherwise in regards to equal representation. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) found that “the number of women in Congress has not dropped since 1979 and has not stayed level since 1987.” With at least 17 women serving in the U.S. Senate and 73 women serving in the U.S. House of Representatives* for the upcoming terms, our representation in Congress remains low and stagnate. I don’t know about you but I am getting deathly tired of knowing that the people who are creating policies regarding my reproductive health and rights have no idea what my lived daily lived experience is as a young woman.

Women win races at the same rates that men do. So why don’t we have more women in office? Simply not enough women run! So this is your call to action to get out there and run for office! We need more feminist in office looking out for equality for all people.

*Official numbers are not in yet because a few races have not been called as absentee ballots are still being counted.

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

Voting Is a Feminist Issue!

Elections are frequently won by tiny margins and the mobilization of students-especially young women-has the potential to change the political landscape drastically. Young people, especially young women, have important rights at stake in this 2010 midterm election. The stakes are high which means it is even more imperative that we exercise our right to vote! Voting is a feminist issue because we are disproportionately under-represented in all levels of government. Even though women are 51% of the population, they hold 17% of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Only 5% of U.S. House seats are held by women of color, and there are no women of color in the U.S. Senate. The picture in our state legislatures is better, but still dismal: women today hold only 24% of state legislative seats nationwide. At the current rate of gain for women in elective office, it will take over 200 years to achieve parity with men in Congress.

Not only is it necessary for us to go out and vote this coming November, but increasing voter participation among young women has the power to transform politics. Everything from abortion rights, the environment, educational loans, immigration reform and LGBTQ civil rights are going to be determined by who we elect into office. Women, between the ages of 18-24, have consistently voted less than any other age group: it’s time to change these numbers!

Your Vote Counts! Young women need to register, vote, and run for government in record numbers. Underrepresentation begins in student governments, so run for office on your campus and Get Out HER Vote this fall!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Women's Suffrage: A privilege, not a drag

This year's rapidly approaching Women's Equality Day, August 26th, provides an interesting means of reflection. Looking back over ninety of the most eventful years of human history, it is incredible to see what women have accomplished. Women in science, politics, literature, journalism, business, and a multitude of other professions have without question changed the world, and advanced human understanding to an incredible amount. When one considers all that has happened as result of women, it is hard to believe that just ninety years ago, women did not even have the right to vote.

The fight for suffrage is a famous one, yet many do not know the degree to which women were terrorized, tortured, and endangered as result of their conviction, their collective quest for political voice. Suffragists (as 'suffragette' was originally used as a derogatory term) were horrendously beaten by police and hostile observers of their peaceful protests and White House pickets. In prison, suffragists were even more badly abused. Hunger strikes were dealt with by force-feeding, like in the case of Alice Paul, while other women like Lucy Burns and Dora Lewis were also brutally mistreated by prison guards. Conditions in prison were awful for the suffragists. In one case, women at the Occoquan Workhouse spent several weeks using only water that came from an open pail, and eating food infested with worms.

What would these women think now, seeing their daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters forsaking the precious right that they spent so long fighting for? Voting is a privilege and a responsibility, and the fact that so many women do not take advantage of it is most distressing. It goes without saying that the fight that suffragists fought ninety years ago was an incredibly difficult one. Nevertheless, they fought it anyway, because they could see how valuable, and necessary it was for their growing, changing country.

Modern women need to continue to value their right to vote as much as female suffragists did when they first were granted it. We tend to forget that suffrage isn't something that we were just given. It was something we fought very long and very hard to win.

Guest post: 10 ways to celebrate Roe v. Wade!

Guest post by Jesse Michener, treasurer of Kutztown University's Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance!

Friday was the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that re-legalized abortion in the United States. This is a day we feminist activists are supposed to be celebrating, but when looking at all of the barriers to obtaining safe, legal abortion, it’s difficult to celebrate.

There are more barriers to a woman’s right to choose today then there have been for decades. Many states have parental consent laws and mandatory delays. Add to that the lack of abortion providers and the harassment they face, and one can see how truly a woman’s right to choose is in jeopardy. That’s why on this anniversary, I think it’s important to remember a quote by Mother Jones, a labor activist, who once said, “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”

Before Roe, women died because they were unable to find safe abortion providers, and 37 years later we are still fighting to keep abortion safe and legal. That’s why we as pro-choice activists need to redouble our efforts to protect a woman’s right to choose, so that hopefully we can work to break down many of the barriers to choice that now exist. For this anniversary, I thought of ten things we all can do to support the pro-choice movement.

1. Online Activism: Everyone has a Facebook or a Myspace or a Twitter account. Use yours to support choice. Post pro-choice articles, make your status a pro-choice message, join pro-choice groups and become a fan of pro-choice organizations.

2. Join a group: There are many great pro-choice organizations out there from FMLAs on campus to local NOW chapters. Become involved in these organizations and work with others to make a difference.

3. Donate: Give what you can to organizations that support abortion rights. Organizations like the Feminist Majority, Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation do amazing things. Giving just a little to these organizations can make a big difference.

4. Expose Fake Clinics and other anti-choice organizations: Many people are unaware that Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not refer for or perform abortions. It’s important to educate people on campus and in the community about this, so that people are aware and can make educated choices on where to go for reproductive health care.

5. Come Out: Come out as being pro-choice, discuss the issue with your friends and family, put a pro-choice bumper sticker on your car, wear a pro-choice shirt or button and be proud that you support a woman’s right to choose.

6. Volunteer: Many abortion providers need volunteers and there are many different ways one can. Clinic escorting is just one way to volunteer; this is where people walk patients and their support people through anti-choice protesters into the clinic. To find out how to help, call your local abortion provider and ask how you can help out.

7. VOTE: Becoming politically involved is one of the most important things we can do. Why not join a campaign, sign a petition or run for office. Being politically involved will ensure that future generations will still have the right to choose.

8. Educate Others: Organize an event on campus or do a presentation for a class on a woman’s right to choose. This is a great way to help others become more aware of important issues and to help more people get involved.

9. Advocate for others: Not everyone feels comfortable standing up for their own rights so it’s important for those of us who feel comfortable to speak up. Find out where your campus health center refers students who face an unintended pregnancy. If they don’t give students all of their options, speak up and fight for change.

10. Support All Choices: Last but not least, we need to remember that being pro-choice isn’t just about abortion, it’s about supporting self-determination. Over the last several decades the social safety net in our country has been eroded and it has become harder and harder for women who choose to become parents and adoption is a complicated process. We as feminist need to support women who choose to become parents and women who choose adoption as well.

Photo credit: KU FMLA

Thanks for weighing in, Jesse! If you would like to showcase your feminist group's activism around Roe v. Wade and abortion rights, send your 350 word post to campusteam (at) feminist (dot) org :D

It's Election Day!

Hey all!

So it's Election Day here in the great state of Virginia, and I've cast my vote! Have you?

We want to remind everyone the importance of getting out to the polls today! In the democracy we live in, if you don't vote, you don't count. Voting is a feminist issue - as long as women and minorities stay underrepresented at the polls, we'll find ourselves fighting even harder to get policies made that support our interests and needs.

The upshot? GO VOTE! Check out Vote411.org to find your polling places, etc.

Here's just a few of the elections we're keeping an eye on:

• Gubernatorial races right here at home in Virginia, as well as the New Jersey race.
• Mayoral races in Houston, Atlanta, and New York City.
• Ballot measures regarding same-sex couples and rights in Maine and Washington State.

If you live in a precinct with live elections, please get out to the polls today! We look forward to seeing the results come in.

Happy Election Day!

Feminists Fighting California Props. 1D and 1E

Former FMF National Campus Organizer, Mayra Gomez, has focused much of her feminist activism these days on the state of California--particularly, fighting against propositions 1D and 1E on California's upcoming May 19th ballot.

Basically, in the name of budget cuts, 1D would slash $268 million a year for child abuse prevention, infant health care, immunization and early child development programs, while E would cut $460 million for mental health care for California’s children and adults.

According to Mayra, who now works on the No on Prop. 1D & 1E campaign, teachers, medical professionals, children's service advocates, mental health care providers, child abuse prevention experts, and families throughout California are fighting what they see as "the wrong time to cut services to some of our most vulnerable...citizens."

As Mayra put it best, "inequality somewhere is inequality everywhere!"

Californians, what are your thoughts?  Are you voting May 19th? (This is where you say, "OF COURSE!")  Have you heard about 1D/1E?  What do you plan to do?

More information on the No on Prop. 1D & 1E campaign can be found at http://noprop1d1e.com/ .