Tag: Women Saving Democracy

Federal Funding Is Necessary to Sustain Election Workers

Ahead of the midterms, many were concerned that election workers and voters would face intimidation or threats at polling places. By and large, though, the push to recruit an “army” of poll watchers and observers didn’t amount to much.

How was it that this election, conducted in the midst of grave threats to our democracy, went so smoothly? In short, because many of the people who needed to step up did so.

Now, longer-term, consistent and adequate funding from the federal government is necessary to ensure election workers have the support they need to continually improve at their jobs without worrying for their own safety and that of their families.

A Century-Long Effort to Secure the ERA: ‘The Important Thing Is To Keep Fighting’

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2023 will mark 100 years since the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment to Congress. Of this milestone, Gloria Steinem remarked “I never thought we would still be fighting this battle after all these years.”
Steinem, along with Carol Jenkins, president emerita of the ERA Coalition, and Mona Sinha, board chair of the ERA Fund for Women’s Equality, formed a panel at Smith College on Sept. 16. Joined by moderator Becca Damante, legislative assistant to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the four discussed the merits of the ERA and its relationship with democracy.

Women Saving Democracy: An Attorneys General Explainer

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State attorneys general are touted as the “people’s lawyers”—yet the majority are white and male.

The office of attorney general is the central legal division of the states and exists in all 50 states. Attorneys general dictate the state’s law enforcement priorities as well as where resources flow. Almost half of all U.S. states have never had a woman in the role.

Women Saving Democracy: A Secretaries of State Explainer

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Ever since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June, the national gaze has shifted towards state-level leadership.

The secretary of state is vital to the effective functioning of state government. Responsibilities of the secretary of state vary but, overall, administering election law is one of their most pertinent duties. Only 22 percent of our nation’s secretaries of state are women. In 2022, 27 states are holding elections for the position of secretary of state.

The Prosecutors Pledging Not to Enforce Abortion Bans: ‘Courageous Leadership the Moment Demands’

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A growing group of prosecutors is pledging to use their discretion to not prosecute abortion cases.

“It is my hope and belief that more prosecutors will take a stand and be on the right side of history on this issue,” said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, a nonprofit that supports elected prosecutors who are looking to reimagine the justice system.

Harnessing the Power of Women Voters

In 2017, a year into the presidency of Donald Trump, three notable women—Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards, and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Ai-jen Poo—looked to harness the sudden rage and confusion felt by women across the U.S. Garza, Poo and Richards announced the start of a women’s equality organization called Supermajority, a multiracial coalition of women organizing around issues like paid leave and affordable healthcare. The group’s name hearkens to the fact that women make up more than half of the U.S. population. 

These days, Amanda Brown Lierman is the executive director of both Supermajority and the Supermajority Education Fund, a sister nonprofit organization for research, education and development programs that prepare women civic leaders. And Lierman and her team have their eye on the prize: the 2022 midterms.