Tag: Women Voters

Arizona Women Gear Up to Challenge Near-Total Abortion Ban in Upcoming Election

Tuesday, April 9, 2024, will go down in history. It is the day that far-right extremists got what they wanted in Arizona: a near-total ban on abortion. It is the day the Arizona Supreme Court turned the clock back 160 years—to a time before women could vote and before Arizona was even a state. It is a day that we will look back on with shame and horror. Like so many Arizona moms, my first thought was of my daughter, who was born last July in a post-Roe America.

While we cannot snap our fingers and change the dynamic at the U.S. or Arizona Supreme Court, we can make our voices heard at the ballot box. Come November, Arizona women are going to come out in full force to vote for our right to control our own bodies.

Small Donor Public Financing Can Help More Women Get Elected

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It’s expensive to run for office: Political ad spending in the 2024 election cycle is expected to exceed $16 billion. And the price of campaigning is a greater barrier for women, who typically have less access than men to the wealthy donors who provide most of this money.

Enter: public financing, a simple but powerful reform that uses public funds to boost small donations to candidates.

Arizona Republicans Are Divided Over Abortion. For Progressives, This Is a Political Opportunity.

The Arizona Supreme Court resurrected its zombie pre-statehood criminal abortion ban earlier this month, which is slated to go into effect as early as June.

The decision, which took many by surprise, has sent Republican lawmakers and antiabortion activists in the state into a strategic tailspin as they seek to prevent the widespread outrage over the decision from transforming Arizona into a state that priorotizes reproductive freedom during the November elections.

Protecting Access to Contraception: A Winning Issue for Democrats in November 2024

In the wake of growing Republican restrictions on reproductive rights, Democrats in many states are introducing bills to protect access to contraception. In response, Republicans are blocking these bills, going on record as opposed to contraception. This issue presents an opportunity for Democrats to attract swing voters in the November 2024 elections, because the vast majority of Americans strongly support contraception access and are motivated to vote by the issue.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Black Women’s Priorities Ahead of 2024 Election; European Commission Urges Women’s Inclusion in Politics

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Pay equity is low in Biden’s administration; Black women’s priorities for the 2024 presidential election; the European Commission on the need for parity; the California primaries are a beacon of hope for increased representation in the state legislature; ranked-choice voting shouldn’t just be used to determine Oscar winners; and more.

Political Abuse Stifles Diversity, Report Shows

In 2022, voters elected the most diverse Congress in history—but that’s not saying much. Congress remains overwhelmingly male and white: Legislators of color make up just 25 percent of the government body, while the overall U.S. electorate is 41 percent people of color. That gap is as wide as it was 40 years ago.

One barrier to fair representation is abuse and intimidation—according to a new report from the Brennan Center. Officeholders at all levels of government face this abuse, but the amount of abuse is disproportionately high for women and people of color. ; It’s interfering with their ability to govern effectively—and it’s making them think twice about staying in politics.

Subminimum Wage Is a Legacy of Slavery: Time for One Fair Wage

While some states have eliminated the subminimum wage, or raised it above the paltry federal rate, the vast majority of states still allow employers to pay servers less than minimum wage. Restaurant servers in the U.S. are about 70 percent female and disproportionately women of color. Young people, disabled workers and incarcerated people in many states also receive subminimum wages.

The system of subminimum wages and tipping is a legacy of slavery. After the Civil War, white business owners replaced wages with tipping because they did not want to pay their Black employees. Today, the subminimum wage harms women of color, in particular, who face biases from customers, which shows up in lower tips.

The Three Genders, Per One GOP Super PAC: ‘Male,’ ‘Working Woman’ and ‘Homemaker’

How many genders are there, according to one GOP Super PAC? Three: “Male,” “working woman” and “homemaker.” Those are the categories given in a survey sent out to Montanans on behalf of the super PAC More Jobs, Less Government, which is supporting Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy.

It could more broadly speak to how antiquated views of women’s roles persist in parts of the Republican electorate. 

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Half the World Will Determine Their Representatives This Year; Rest in Power, Eddie Bernice Johnson

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: how previously unknown problems can be solved by electing diverse leaders; the longest-reigning queen in the world for 53 years, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is stepping down; rest in power, former Texas Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson; and more.