Campaign 2012 Series Pt.

3 Examining
Women's votes
By: Julius Rea for JETmag.com
As the 2012 campaign enters its final stretch, candidates are trying to win the hearts and minds of
several demographic groups that could swing the elusive undecided vote in their favor. And those
potentially game-changing voting blocs are working to make sure the candidates speak to their
agendas.
In a series of articles counting down to Election Day, well examine several groups of constituents that
candidates are trying to woo and look at how they relate to Black Americans.
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Women: irrefutably influential, ever expanding, continuously disenfranchised.
They are the strongest and most influential group for one reason: they encompass every
minority and voting bloc. As Election Day quickly approaches, its clear that women voters will
play an important in deciding the president; women represent over half of the 313 million
Americans, according to the Census Bureau.
I think that there is a real passion that we bring to the table that intensifies the concerns that
we have, Dr. Dezie Woods-Jones, Black Women Organized for Political Action president, says.
When women are committed to something, they vote.
Elizabeth McNamara the president of League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization
that encourages political participation says that women voters have always made an impact
in elections and that voter turnout is higher for women than for men.
She says that this election is important for women because along with policies that affects
women only a wide array of economic issues are on the table.
The fact of the matter is that all of the issues involved in this election directly impact women
because they directly impact our families and communities, McNamara says. I think women
are integral to the health and well being of our communities and to our electorate. And I think
weve been proving that for the past 92 years.
War on Women

Looking at the struggles and issues this group faces currently, a question arises: Are these the
final fights for womens rights? While facing voter identification and registration obstacles, this
bloc must vote on an increasingly important issue: womens health. Abortion, birth control
and legitimate rape have been highly discussed topics among politicians this year.
WhilePresident Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney orated binders of women and Lilly
Ledbetter at each other during the second presidential debate, they rarely discussed
womens health during the most televised political forum.
Even though he has lessened his stance on abortion and contraceptives, Romney was quoted
saying, "I think I've said time and again that I'm a pro-life candidate and I'll be a pro-life
president. The action I'll take immediately is to remove funding for Planned Parenthood."
Political analysts have commented on Romneys constantly shifting stance and how it conflicts
with the Republican party overall as well as his running mate, Paul Ryan who has
introduced bills to restrict access to abortion.
Obama, on the other hand, has historically supported pro-choice laws and efforts to increase
accessible contraceptives, which garnered disapproval from religious organizations
nationwide.
Terry ONeill, president of the National Organization of Women, says that the current wave of
restrictive women reproductive laws is fueled by legislation enacted over the past few years.
According to National Abortion Rights Action League Pro Choice, 26 states enacted one or
more anti-choice measures in 2011. In total, states enacted twice as many anti-choice measures
in 2011 than they did in 2010.
A Texas law passed in 2011 requires doctors to describe the fetus to women getting an
ultrasound.
Recently, the Associated Press reported on anti-abortion policies nationwide; more than 30
abortion laws have been enacted in 2012 and pre-abortion counseling is required in 35 states.
A new South Dakota law would create a three-month waiting period where women would
have to visit pregnancy center discouraging abortion.
These attacks on women have ignited a new look at what is going on with women which has
resulted in outrage in people saying I thought we dealt with this, ONeill says. We may as
well be looking at the fourth wave of the womens movement right now."
Voter Representation

Despite representing half of the American population, women as a voting bloc must
tackle issues like a lack of registered voters and disenfranchising voter identification laws,
similar to other minorities. McNamara says that, for the first time in 60 years, we are seeing an
assault of voting rights.
Among many issues, the League of Women Voters is focusing on voter identification laws. To
vote, McNamara has to renew her drivers license which she uses as identification in
Georgia. To do so, she also needs her birth certificate and her marriage license to prove her
identity and name.
She says that voter identification policies create unnecessary obstacles, specifically for elderly
women. In fact, there are over 23 million women 65 years and older in America as of July
2011; there are around 17 million men in the same age bracket.
Clearly, every time youre asking a citizen an otherwise eligible voter to produce yet
another piece of paper to prove that they are who they are and that theyre eligible to vote,
women get impacted by that, she says.
While McNamara and the League of Women Voters are working towards informing and
supporting female voters, Gail Kitch is pushing to register unmarried women.
She is the Chief Operating Officer for the Voter Participation Center, a voting advocacy group
which focuses on the Rising American Electorate, compromised of people of color, people
under the age of 30 and unmarried woman.
Of the 55 million unmarried women in this group which is disproportionately unregistered
and underrepresented around 39 percent are not registered, according to her.
Kitch says that economic hardship strongly affects these people. Women, in particular, can be
distracted by daily minutiae to participate civically.
I think part of what impels people to participate is when they feel the things that matter to
them are not the focus of the conversation, she says. Thats what were seeing with women as
well as the rest of the [Rising American Electorate].
As an organization, the Voter Participation Center has registered around 800,000 voters this
year about 250,000 are unmarried women, according to Kitch.
Our role is not focusing on who they choose to vote for and what their registered party is.
Our commitment is to ensure that people are participating, she says. Making sure that
women do understand the connection between being registered, voting in the fall and having
their voices heard.

The Final Frontier

Unfortunately, I dont think [the fight for womens rights] will ever end. I think well always
have to assert ourselves and fight for whats right. Its just the reality of the work we live in,
says LaNiece Jones, executive director of Black Women Organized For Political Action
(BWOPA).
BWOPA, founded in 1968, has worked to inform Black women of their political power. The
organization campaigned for Ron Dellums during its early years advocating for AfricanAmerican political engagement. This group is one of many tackling the final frontier of the
womens rights movement: electing women to office.
Jones would also like to see more Black women in public leadership. She says that there needs
to be more support for Black female politicians to move them from local to state or national
government positions.
If were not at the table when folks are making decisions, then were left out, she says. Who
better understands how to raise a family on limited resources?
Beyond voting on health policies and defeating voter registration obstacles, women must face
the fact that they are still underrepresented politically.
According to the Center for American Women in Politics, women currently hold 16.8 percent
of the 535 seats in Congress, 17 percent of the 100 seats in the Senate and 16.8 percent of the
435 seats in the House of Representatives. Forty-two women of color have served in Congress
28 of which were African-American.
I would encourage women to remember that all the issues that they care about are all
centered around people who make decisions about those issues. We have to exercise our right
to participate and give voice to those issues, Woods-Jones says. You should not complain
about circumstance if youre not prepared to participate in its change.