With just days before polls close in the 2024 elections, art on display in east Austin, Texas, declares, “You can’t control us. You can’t stop us.”
A Trump Victory Could Reinvigorate a Global Antiabortion Pact: ‘Women Are Going to Die’
Abortion is one of the most pivotal issues that will determine whether Trump returns to the Oval Office. The Republican nominee routinely brags about his role—via three Supreme Court nominations—in overturning Roe v. Wade in a 2022 ruling that inevitably limited abortion access for millions of people in the United States.
Less known is the work that Trump and his appointees did to prevent women in other countries from obtaining the procedure.
The Gender Gap Among Voters Is Approaching Record-Breaking Levels
The gender gap may reach record levels in 2024 and, depending on who turns out to vote, it could determine the outcome of the presidential election. The latest Fox News poll finds that enthusiasm is highest among white college-educated women and lowest among white non-college educated men—a finding that benefits Democrats.
Even married couples find themselves at odds in an election where one side appears to be messaging primarily to men and the other sending strong signals to women.
Abortion Is Popular. The Antiabortion Movement Is Still Set on ‘Punishing’ Women Who Get Them—or Aid and Abet Others
In her new book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win, Jessica Valenti argues that abortion is not in fact as controversial as abortion ban lawmakers would like their constituents to believe. As noted on the back of Abortion, 81 percent don’t want government regulation of abortion or pregnancy at all.
A week before the election, Valenti, feminist reporter and founder of ‘Abortion, Every Day,’ sat down for a conversation about her new book with moderator True North Research’s Ansev Demirhan, also in conversation with Karen Thompson of Pregnancy Justice; and Anoushka Chander, youth activist and host of the Ms. magazine podcast, The Z Factor.
Ahead of Election, Right-Wing Extremist Leonard Leo Seeks to Further Eliminate U.S. Abortion Access
The fights over upcoming ballot initiatives provide insight into just how many levers of power are at the disposal of antiabortion powerbroker Leonard Leo—the man who engineered the right-wing takeover of the U.S. Supreme Court that in turn reversed Roe—and his network.
National antiabortion groups with ties to Leo, like Students for Life of America and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, have set up PACs in multiple states where abortion is on the ballot. These groups are also canvassing, phone banking, running ads and helping sow distrust in the ballot signature collection process in certain states.
New Ad Creates ‘Permission Structure’ for Men to Support Harris
Among the most memorable ads of the political season are a pair of 30-second spots with explicitly gendered themes featuring voiceovers from two of America’s most beloved movie stars. The ads each play on the idea of “permission structures,” the assumption that voters sometimes need to be given permission to vote for a candidate or party that is not popular with their social group.
During this election cycle, Democrats and Democratic-aligned groups seem finally to have figured out that they need to respond, in part by creating a special kind of permission structure for men to support them. Permission for men to vote for their values and conscience just might make a difference in what promises to be a very close election.
Anti-Civil Rights Organizations Go All-in on Election Denial
Groups mostly known for opposing abortion and trans rights are partners in the election denial movement.
Our Elections Are Not Fragile
Citizens can vote in 2024 with confidence. Despite the noise and lies and melodrama, voting will likely be uneventful for the vast majority of Americans.
But even as we grow more confident about Election Day, it is increasingly clear that partisans plan to disrupt the counting and undermine trust after the votes are cast.
Black Voters Prepare for Backlash Ahead of Election Day
Through her nonprofit Project Say Something, voting rights activist Camille Bennett urged city officials to remove a Confederate monument in front of the local courthouse in Florence. Throughout Trump’s presidency, as support grew across the country to topple and rename Confederate monuments, the former president continued to defend the racist remnants of the past. Organizers like Bennett say they can’t afford another Trump win. “The power belongs to the people,” said Bennett. “If we choose to mobilize and really lift our voices as a nation, we can get a lot done. And that’s the hope that I carry on—no matter what happens, we can’t be afraid.”
“Make no mistake about it, if [Trump] is reelected, this is going to further embolden his supporters to express their racial hostility, their racial grievances, and also continue to further inspire people to engage in hateful tactics,” said Emmitt Riley, president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. “Some folks are sick of Trump, but this election is going to really be another test as to whether or not a nation who has lived under four years of chaos is ready to return to that dysfunction and chaos.”
Free Screening: World War I Documentary ‘The Hello Girls’ Introduces the First Women Allowed to Serve in the U.S. Military
In honor of Veterans Day (celebrated each year on Nov. 11), the nonprofit organization Foundation for Women Warriors is set to host a screening of the powerful documentary The Hello Girls on Nov. 6, 2024. This screening aims to shed light on the extraordinary stories of women who broke barriers and paved the way for women’s role in the military.
The documentary tells the inspiring tale of 223 women who answered President Woodrow Wilson’s call to serve their country during World War I. The Nov. 6 event will feature a screening of the documentary, followed by a panel discussion with experts on women’s history and feminism. Attendees will gain insights on the Hello Girls’ experiences and their enduring impact on society.