Unmarried Women: This Election's Holy Grail

During the run-up to the 2004 election, I traveled around the country in support of John Kerry. Day after day on the road, I was blown away by the unbelievable women I met. From Hollywood to Hoboken, I saw first hand that this country is made-up of amazing women who do their best to make their lives and the lives of those around them better. These women care deeply about health care, the War, national security, education and the environment, and they have the potential to bring these issues to the forefront of political debate.

Yet, in the last presidential election, 20 million eligible unmarried women did not vote, making unmarried women the largest group of non-voters in the country. For whatever reason (and there are many) they have opted out of the electoral process. In part I think this is because they do not feel that those running for office are communicating with them. In part it is because these women do not realize the power they have to communicate with those seeking higher office by voting in large numbers. If they use their voices they will have a profound effect on who becomes the next resident of this country.

The truth is these 20 million women have become the Holy Grail for both parties. For the first time in history, the majority of US households are headed by someone who is not married and a whopping 24% of the US population is unmarried women. The face of our nation is truly changing.

Everyone is talking to them now. But are they listening?

Women's Voices. Women Vote has been listening to these women and finding innovative ways to motivate them since 2000 when they began trying to understand why so many single women weren't voting. This year I took part in their new voter mobilization PSA campaign called "20 Million Reasons".

Today we are one year, almost to the day, away from the '08 presidential election and Women's Voices Women Vote is kicking off this national campaign to inspire and activate unmarried women to register and vote.

Watch the first in a series of provocative and patriotic public service announcements I participated in from WVWV here:

The odds are pretty good that you are or have been an unmarried women. The odds are even better that you know an unmarried woman or two. So, how about joining us at WVWV.org? Share this video, register online and encourage the unmarried women in your life to register and vote. Women have a lot of power. More so that we often realize. In our day-to-lives, we are mothers, daughters, teachers, doctors, scientists, nurses. We are police officers, fire fighters, factory workers and yes, actors. But, we are also the deciders if we choose to be. We are who we've been waiting for. Imagine the possibilities...

Comments

[ednadumpling]

The key to Ed Rendell's election win in the primary over Bob Casey was single women so hardly a new group --

[janmB]

IF the presidential elections hadn't been so close---it couldn't have been so easily FIXED

[mamacita]

Most of the unmarried women in my experience are just too busy to even be well-informed on many of the issues of today. Their concerns consist of putting food on the table and trying to run a household, keeping their kids healthy, clothed, and educated. Politics is a leisure activity, and it rates pretty far down the priority list of day-to-day living.

[nunzia]

I'm a woman. A single mother. I worked my way through college and then through post graduate work. That means I worked odd jobs while I was doing my studies as well. I served as soccer team mother, boyscout den mother, did various volunteer work for my child's school. It was an exhausting, strenuous, often sleep deprived time, a time fraught with anxiety and worry about whether we'd ever or even survive. I NEVER MISSED A VOTE. NEVER. I know other strong women who did what they had to do - "had to do" includes the civic responsibility to know what the hell is going on in your country and why voting matters, and what the damned issues are. For all those professional victims out there, who think it's too hard to go vote, you do not have my understanding. You have my disdain. It's folk like you who have kept all those shallow slacker corrupt lazy frat boys in power, making decisions that are contrary to our well being and that of our children. D'ja ever notice how quickly they got viagra covered by medical insurance? Are your kids covered? That time you spend doing your nails? Use it to learn the issues and get off your ass and vote.

[Mariel]

When I was a single working mother many years ago, I did not perceive the gov't as having any effect on my life. I was in survival mode with no time for gov't.

After marrying again, I had a little more time to think about politics, especially since I married the Vice-
Chairman of a Democratic district. So naturally I started to vote and even to start campaigning.

Maybe other single women don't feel gov't is related to their survival and that of their children.

[TheHandyman]

Maybe if they had someone worth voting for would be nice. Maybe they are "unbelievable" because they recognize that the lesser of 2 evils is not a viable option. Why is it their obligation to speak to power and not the other way around. Maybe they, like a lot of other Americans, are saying it by refusing to participate in a corrupted system the same as one does not willingly participate in a war if they feel that war is wrong!

I, a mere male, would vote for one of these women who cared deeply about education, healthcare, making friends instead of enemies of other people in the world, upholding the Constitution, leveling the playing field economically for everyone instead of just the rich getting richer, or maybe spending our money on making life better instead of spending it on shiny war machines which have to be used to make people richer. I would vote for a woman, or a man, or a little purple thing from another planet if there was one running. Kucinich and Gravel have some of, if not most of those as their platform, but not a single woman running for President!

[darker]

VOTE as if your life depends on it.
Because IT DOES.

Republican = thieves, liars, robbers of middle America's life and future.

Republican = NANNY STATE FOR THE ULTRA-RICH on the backs of the un-rich. For-profit invasions, wars, disaster profiteers, Big Oil, "unaccountable" corporations are running away with YOUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS.

CORPORATE WELFARE QUEENS don't want you to have Health Insurance. They want you to be VULNERABLE and powerless and weak so they can screw you over some more.

VOTE AGAINST THEM.

[psgoodguy]

you say they are 'unbelievable women' and 'care deeply' about many issues and yet don't vote.

truly unbelievable.