Get Out The Vote: Women Are A Crucial Element in 2024 Election
Women voters will play a key role in the 2024 election.
As the 2024 presidential election in November nears, the importance of voting is heightened and the efforts to increase voter turnout become crucial.
Voters identifying as women are key to the election, as more women than men turn out to vote. Efforts to get more women elected and also for more women to vote in the 2024 election are in full swing.
“Voters identifying as women are key to the election, as more women than men turn out to vote. #2024election”
Efforts including When We All Vote, Power The Polls, Emerge America, Emily’s List and Vote Run Lead encourage women to vote and also women to run for office.
The Center For American Politics at Rutgers University says the 2024 election is a critical time for women to run for office. “The number of women candidates for the U.S. House in 2024 is down by 21.6% from 2022. While the number of men running for the U.S. House in these states is also down from 2022 to 2024, the percentage drop (11.1%) is lower than it is for women.”
Read more in Take The Lead on women voting
At the recent 10-year anniversary event for Take The Lead, Gloria Steinem, aurthor, journalist, co-founder of Ms. magazine and the National Women’s Political Caucus, said, “If we don’t vote, we don’t exist. It is absolutely crucial.” She added, “We all have to treat reproductive freedom at least as important as the freedom of speech. We can’t take no for an answer.”
““We all have to treat #reproductive #freedom at least as important as the freedom of speech. We can’t take no for an answer.” — @GloriaSteinem”
Read more in Take The Lead on the 10-year anniversary event.
“Women comprise a powerful voting bloc. Not only were 70% registered to vote as of November 2022 (compared to 68.2% of men),” according to a recent report from Skimm. “And after years of being perceived as voting with their husbands, women are now seen as crucial swing voters who may actually influence their husband’s votes. That means politicians and political strategists spend money and airtime trying to understand and win their votes.”
The bad news is, in Skimm’s research on women voters, “Sixty-one percent told us they’re anxious, 18% said they feel let down, and 8% are turned off.” Additionally, “Eighty-three percent of Skimm readers told us they don’t believe lawmakers are making decisions or enacting policies that support women.”
“Women voters will play a key role in the 2024 election. #voterturnout #womenvoters”
That’s great news, because when it comes to our current policies and politics, women have a lot of notes.
Read more from Gloria Feldt on women voting
Voting according to party lines also has a gender divide, Politico reports. “The gender demographic tells a story to keep an eye on,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.
The good news is voter turnout has increased in the last few elections. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, “The 2020 presidential election had the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election (49% turnout) had the highest rate for a midterm since 1914. Even the 2022 election’s turnout, with a slightly lower rate of 46%, exceeded that of all midterm elections since 1970.”
“The good news is #voterturnout has increased in the last few elections. #2024election”
Read more in Take The Lead on women voting
Historically there has been a gender gap in voting preferences, but the Brookings Institute reports that the gender gap disappears with younger voters.
“Historically there has been a #gendergap in #voting preferences, but the @BrookingsInst reports that the gender gap disappears with younger voters. ”
According to Brookings, “Why the absence of a gender gap among younger voters? Abortion is probably a big reason — like their female partners, men under 45 years old grew up under Roe v. Wade. Historically men’s and women’s views on abortion have not differed dramatically.”
A racial gap also exists. According to a recent report from the Brennan Center For Justice, there is a significant racial gap in voter turnout.
“The 2020 election must also be remembered for another turnout statistic: 70.9 percent of white voters cast ballots while only 58.4 percent of nonwhite voters did.” The report continues, “62.6 percent of Black American voters, 53.7 percent of Latino American voters, and 59.7 percent of Asian American voters cast ballots in 2020.”
Read more from Gloria Feldt on voting
Three decades after the passage of the National Voter Registration Act, The League of Women Voters reports, “While we’ve made advancements in expanding voter access, some 30 years later, the fight for voting rights is far from over. Many people still face disproportionate challenges to participate in elections due to factors including health, age, race, and gender. And without federal legislation to protect voting rights, certain communities continue to lack full representation in our democracy.”
Getting out the vote also means supporting those identifying as women to run for office.
“Getting out the vote also means supporting those identifying as women to run for office. #democracy ”
“Counting both the House of Representatives and the Senate, women account for 153 of 540 voting and nonvoting members of Congress. That represents a 59% increase from the 96 women who were serving in the 112th Congress a decade ago, though it remains far below women’s share of the overall U.S. population. A record 128 women are serving in the newly elected House, accounting for 29% of the chamber’s total. In the Senate, women hold 25 of 100 seats, tying the record number they held in the 116th Congress,” the Pew Research Center reports.
As of 2023, in Congress, “The number of women among its 535 members will inch up by just two – increasing from 147 in 2022 to 149 in 2023,” according to The Conversation.
When We All Vote encourages women to register to vote and offers these caveats: “If you’re in line when polls are supposed to close, stay in line – you have the right to vote. If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask for a new one. If the machines are down at your polling place, ask for a paper ballot. If your citizenship, criminal record, or other qualifications are questioned, immediately call the Election Protection Hotline where trained volunteers are available to help.”
Emerge America President A’shanti Gholar told Take The Lead, “If we want to progress as a country, we need more women in elected office. It is extremely important if we want to have a thriving democracy.”
“@EmergeAmerica President @AshantiGholar told @Takeleadwomen, “If we want to progress as a country, we need more women in elected office.” #womeninpolitics”
Leadership Takeaway of The Week:
“If we don’t vote, we don’t exist.” Gloria Steinem, co-founder of MS. Magazine, author, journalist and co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus.
