Will Women Decide 2008?
by Katrina vanden Heuvel
The Nation
A majority of households in
the nation are headed by an unmarried person. Unmarried women are
growing at twice the rate of married women since 2000, but are 9
percentage points less likely to register and 13 percentage points less
likely to vote than married women.
Women's Voices. Women
Vote. (WVWV) is targeting 25 states in an effort to register over one
million unmarried women and reach out to an additional 3 million
"low-propensity voters." (Unmarried women who are registered but didn't
vote in at least one of the last two presidential elections.) WVWV
Founder and President, Page Gardner, says, "We are making sure the
voices of women on their own are heard in the political process.
Particularly, that they are heard from in terms of the strength of
their numbers. Polling shows that these women are paying attention
earlier than ever before and they are motivated. They are wanting
change, they are desperate for change, and we are going to see their
participation go up." Gardner points to a recent study by the polling
firm, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, that showed 85 percent of unmarried
women saying they are so frustrated with the direction of the country,
they are more likely to vote.
WVWV understands that it's not
just about registering the voters but also getting them to cast their
ballots. "Given their income, many of these women are incredibly
stretched," Gardner says. "We have to not only take the registration to
them, we have to take the voting booth to them too." She says that in
2006 they conducted a vote-by-mail program that was "extraordinarily
successful." (All WVWV programs are tested before they are rolled out –
with a control group and a treatment group – so the value of the
program in gaining new voters and its cost-effectiveness can be
determined.) In addition to registration forms, WVWV will be providing
vote-by-mail applications so that women can vote at their convenience
and take their time to study the candidates. The group also has a
strong online presence, including widgets and banners that people can
place on their own sites, allowing visitors to watch a "20 million
Reasons" PSA campaign and register to vote.
In contrast to
married women, Gardner says, unmarried women are largely driven by
economic issues when it comes to their politics. She points to the fact
that 44 percent of them live in households with annual incomes of
$30,000 or less, while approximately 44 percent of married women live
in households earning over $75,000 annually. One in five unmarried
women lacks health care, and 50 percent of children who are age six or
younger -- and live with single Moms -- live in poverty. The connection
between this voting bloc's economic concerns and its potential power at
the polls isn't lost on Ann Lewis, Senior Advisor at Hillary Clinton
for President. Lewis coined the phrase "single anxious female" which
has since gained traction in the press.
"I was talking to a
reporter who used a term I didn't like -- something that sounded too
Sex and the City," Lewis told me. "So I said that wasn't accurate, the
biggest common factor was economic anxiety, more like single anxious
female."
According to Lewis, the Clinton campaign has a
layered program to connect with "women on their own" and make an
impact. "We know that they are more likely to be economically
vulnerable," she says, "and to think of themselves as outsiders to the
political system. So our outreach programs include an emphasis on
economic issues that make a difference in their lives -- like equal pay
-- where Hillary has been the leader in the Senate on strengthening
equal pay laws. We also did a series of events around Equal Pay Day in
the early primary states and nationwide. In New Hampshire, we held a
panel discussion led by Evelyn Murphy, an expert on equal pay, and
released a list of women supporters, including the [New Hampshire]
co-chair who was also the first woman firefighter in the state. In
Iowa, [former First Lady of Iowa] Christie Vilsack did a press
conference with two cakes -- one whole one representing men's pay, and
one with a big slice taken out for women's pay; in Nevada, an open
letter was signed by many women urging support for Hillary's equal pay
bill. Meanwhile, nationally, Hillary spoke at a rally at the Capitol --
as she has done before. We also featured a calculator on our website
where women could figure out their own wage gap. Hillary also often
talks about her commitment to Social Security -- and her opposition to
Republican attempts to privatize it -- as an example of where she
stands up and fights. Single women also often have family
responsibilities -- Hillary talks about her work for children's health,
and also issues like long-term care, because being responsible for
aging parents is a growing concern."
Audrey Waters,
spokesperson for the John Edwards for President campaign, says that
Senator Edwards has an agenda that strikes a chord with all women, and
his economic platform in particular appeals to unmarried women.
"Senator Edwards has proposed a bold and specific policy agenda on
issues that most directly impact women voters," says Waters. "We're
proud of the tremendous support it has earned Senator Edwards among
women." She also points to the campaign website's Women for Edwards
page and "an extensive outreach effort, led in part by NARAL Pro-Choice
America President Emeritus, Kate Michelman, who has campaigned for us
in New Hampshire and other early states."
While Lewis and
Waters both point to the importance their campaigns place on addressing
issues of particular concern to unmarried women, the Obama for America
campaign seems to have a different approach. Spokesperson Jen Psaki
said, "Women connect with Barack's message regardless of age, marital
status or income because of the new ideas and real change he'll bring
to Washington. All women are tired of politicians telling them what
they want to hear; Barack tells them what they need to hear. They want
an end to divisive politics in Washington and Barack is the only
candidate who's actually worked to bring people together to get things
done that matter to people -- in the Illinois and US Senate he's been
able to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass ethics
reforms, health care for uninsured children, domestic violence
prevention, and bring change to the way government works." Psaki
described the Obama campaign's outreach efforts: "We have a broad
approach to communicating with women and some of that outreach connects
in particular with younger, unmarried women through blogs, emails,
e-newsletters, and podcasts. But the most effective way to reach out to
undecided women is through the one-on-one contact that our supporters
have with their undecided friends, family, colleagues and neighbors.
It's that kind of outreach that's created our 20,000 women-strong
grassroots organization, Women for Obama. These women have hosted house
parties, book clubs, phone banks, Girls Night Out, canvassing, and
other grassroots events to bring women together with other women to
talk about their support for Obama."
Lewis also says that
the Clinton campaign works hard in its outreach efforts to address
feelings unmarried women have of being political outsiders. She says,
"Our program in Iowa, for example, is geared to encouraging people,
especially women, who have not caucused before: our Caucus with a Buddy
program and the video Caucusing is Easy. We also feature women as
messengers, knowing that woman-to-woman communication can be
particularly effective. Single women strongly support having more women
in elected office; many of our surrogates are elected women leaders,
like Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congresswomen Stephanie Tubbs-Jones,
Sheila Jackson Lee, Allyson Schwartz, Hilda Solis, etc…."
While
the campaigns vie for this voting bloc that the Greenberg Quinlan
Rosner study described as "hav[ing] the power to reshape American
politics further, if they vote," Gardner and WVWV will continue to do
the hard work to make sure their voices are heard. She says they have
partnered with both state and national organizations, including
state-based and national groups, USAction Education Fund, Project Vote,
Working America, and others.
"Our attitude is, ‘Steal this
book,' Gardner says. "We share our materials, research, lists --
anything to help [other 501c3] organizations increase the participation
rates of unmarried women… anyone interested in doing that, we consider
partners." Gardner says that every year since WVWV's founding in 2004,
the organization's voter lists have grown in value, and their programs
are increasingly innovative. "We have the best marital status model --
predicting the likelihood that a person is unmarried -- in the
country," she says. "We have designed a model to predict who is and who
is not likely to respond to voter registration and vote-by-mail
efforts, so that helps organizations use their dollars wisely. And we
know the issues that concern these women so we can ensure that we are
talking to them in a way that resonates."
Gardner knows the
impact that unmarried women can have -- not only in 2008 -- but the
years ahead. "What we're trying to do by making this group of women
heard -- not just through voting, but advocating for their issues, and
making sure politicians see their power -- that they are the decisive
factor in so many races….We are saying that their issues of concern
need to be at the top of the list. Their power when they participate is
astounding. We want that power realized, and their agenda to become
America's agenda."
Katrina vanden Heuvel is the editor and publisher of The Nation magazine.
Copyright © 2007 The Nation
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Released: 21 December 2007
Word count: 1,651
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