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Brittney Fields The Importance of Women Voting The freedom to vote is something that is very important in a democracy. The right to vote is a privilege that originally wasnt given to everyone. The first to be able to vote was white males, later black males would gain the right to vote, and lastly women gained the right to vote. Women gained the right to vote through the womens suffrage movement. Later, Doris Granny D Haddock knew the importance of women voting and did a voter registration drive to support working women to vote. The importance of women voting has become very clear in the 2012 election because of the legislative that has been introduced that directly affects women. The womens suffrage movement was a pivotal point for women. When women came together in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 they had a resolution in mind. The women resolved their resolution by saying, it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise (Burrell 89). At the time, this resolution was thought of as too bold, and some of the women worried that it would mean they wouldnt be taken seriously. It wasnt until black men gained the right to vote and women did not, that it became a priority. After many tribulations women were finally granted the right to vote in 1920. As monumental as the Nineteenth Amendment was, women didnt rush out to vote in the elections following its passage. The women who did vote varied on socioeconomic status, with middle-class, native-born, urban women voting at higher rates than lower-class, immigrant, or rural women (Burrell 91). For some time women werent seen as pivotal factors during elections. It wasnt until 1952, that women emerged as an important group to be targeted for votes. During the 1952 election between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson women came out to vote in greater numbers than ever. They voted differently than ever before. They reacted to different issues in different ways from their male counterparts. They became a political entity, significant in their own right, probably for the first time since they had been delivered from political bondage (Burrell 94). Women became a key part of elections even if they werent the majority of voters. It wasnt until the 1980s that the percentage of women voters was higher than mens (Burrell 93). This is an important shift because in the United States there are more women than men, therefore more women need to vote to make it equivalent to men. This was the beginning of thinking of women as a distinct voting bloc. It was also during the 1980 election that the term, gender gap, appeared in the media. Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election and that was bad for welfare state policies. The policies that were at risk were welfare, food stamps, unemployment benefits, Medicaid, social security, disability, legal services, and housing (Piven and Cloward 141). In the early 1980s more than half of employed middle-class women worked in the health, education, or welfare jobs (Piven and Cloward 143). With Reagan being up for reelection in 1984, many groups were trying to rally voters and also get more people registered to vote. The Womens Vote Project , representing over sixty organizations, kicked off a national voter drive in 1984 on Susan B. Anthonys birthday with the slogan Its a Mans World, Unless Women Vote! (Piven and Cloward 147). Women realized that the policies

that were at risk directly affect them, so they gathered in large proportions to vote. During the 1992 election between Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ross Perot women played a significant role. Bill Clinton promoted things such as abortion rights, family leave, and comparable worth (Bendyna and Lake 237). These policies were important to women. After the primaries and up to the general elections in November, women supported Clinton at higher rates than men throughout most of this period (Bendyna and Lake 246). With this support Clinton won the 1992 election. Clinton won by 43 percent of the vote, 46 percent of the votes were women and 41 percent of the votes were men (Bendyna and Lake 247). Clinton had supporters from numerous groups of women including women with less than a high school education, with a college education, youngest and oldest age groups, African-American, working women, and women in the Democratic and Independent parties (Bendyna and Lake 248). From these numbers it is apparent that women wanted Clinton in the office because of his policies. The womens voting bloc gave Clinton his margin of victory and therefore a victory for women. The 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry was another election where women were an important voting bloc. Most women support Democrats based on their domestic issues policies, such as economy, healthcare, prescription drug legislation, and elderly benefits (McCaffrey 127). However, especially after the events of September 11, 2001 women supported Republicans in the area of national defense and this was an advantage for Bush (McCaffrey 127). With this knowledge in hand the Republican National Committee launched a program called Winning Women, which was designed to reach out to female voters (McCaffrey 141). The Democratic National Committee also created a group to reach out to female voters called the DNC Womens Vote Center (McCaffrey 142). Both candidates had something to offer to the women voter, and took full advantage of that fact. As stated by the political psychologist Dr. Martha Burke, The womens vote will decide the next election, as it has since 1980 (McCaffrey 142). There was another woman who was aware of this fact and used it to mobilize women voters. Prior to the 2004 election, Doris Granny D Haddock, best known for her trek across the country to raise awareness about Campaign Finance Reform, decided to do a voter registration drive. During the voter registration drive she traveled 23,000 miles encouraging working women to vote or to register to vote (Burke). The unique thing that Granny D did to encourage women to register to vote is she took over their job for as long as it took to register. Some of the jobs she did were; be a mermaid in Tampa, feed alligators in Orlando, bartend in New Orleans, a masseuse in Detroit, and she even went into a strip club to register women; although she didnt get on the stage. She did all of this, at the age of 94, to attract television crews and newspaper writers. During a speech given by Granny D on September 20, 2003, she speaks of the importance of women voting, my last wish is that Americas women, who worked so hard amid great violence for the right to vote, take that now as a sacred duty in 2004. Granny D wanted women to vote and prove they had a voice in this country like they did in previous years. In an interview done by the Keene State College Womens and Gender Studies Capstone class, Steve Chase was interviewed about Granny Ds registration drive. In response he spoke of the unique way Granny D was able to get people to vote who usually werent a priority.

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But there is also ways in that she was a trend setter because a lot of elections in the United States, sort of the elites in the democratic and republican party just want to quibble over people who are traditional voters. Theres not a sense of we want to expand. I mean think about it, about 50 percent of the eligible voters dont vote. That is untapped potential that could dramatically change, probably for the better, this country. But many, many groups have now gotten quite sophisticated about reaching out to people who are not traditional or habitual voters. And Obama, whatever you think about him as somebody in a government position, he was a pretty skilled campaigner and they adopted many community organizing techniques and reaching out to a significant portion of people who not normally have been reached out to in elections. And so, I think you could assess what Granny D did in terms of her project, but it also was part of a shift that happened that really democratized this country, in a meaningful way. Were going to have to expand beyond the usual suspects who vote. (Chase, Interview) As Chase points out, for many years there wasnt a large need to target atypical voting groups. However, in more recent years it has become an important aspect of the presidential elections. In the upcoming 2012 election women once again will be an important voting bloc. Currently, there are policies that are being threatened or weakened that impact women. Through out the debates, the topics of birth control, abortion, health care, and equal pay have been brought up. Some of things being threatened are Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Violence Against Women Act, family planning, and workplace protection against sex discrimination (Smeal). Republicans, in general have led the way for weakening these policies. According to Mitt Romneys website he would like to overturn Roe v. Wade, to leave the abortion issue up to the states, he also supports ending federal funding to Planned Parenthood (Values: Marriage, Family, Life.). These are just two things that Romney would like to change that affect women. In 2011 the Violence Against Women Act expired and will go to the senate to be decided if it will be reauthorized. This year, three provisions were added to extend protection to women in same-sex marriages, Native American women, and women immigrants that are here illegally (Press). The eight Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee all voted against the act due to the provisions (Press). This act is a very significant protection for women and the longer it is debated the longer it will take to be reauthorized and the programs reinstated that help women. Republicans are also blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it easier for women to file class-action suits against employers they accuse of sex-based pay discrimination (Bennett and Ellison). In 2010 the Paycheck Fairness Act didnt receive one Republican vote in the Senate and they want to block it again (Press). With women earning only 77 cents to every dollar a man earns (Press), it is very important that legislation such as this act are passed. Voting is very important in a democratic society, it allows everyone to voice their opinions. Women had to work very hard to gain the right to vote. Once, they were able to vote many people, such as Doris Granny D Haddock knew it was important to have women continue to vote. This upcoming election is another instance when it is important

for women to continue to vote in large numbers. Many policies directly or indirectly effect women and they have a stake in voting in this election as well in elections to come.

Works Cited Bendyna, Mary E., and Celinda C. Lake. Gender and Voting in the 1992 Presidential Election. Eds. Elizabeth A. Cook, Sue Thomas, and Clyde Wilcox. The Year of the Woman: Myths & Realities. Boulder: Westview Press, Inc., 1994. 237-254. Print. Bennett, Jessica., and Jesse Ellison. Why Women Need the Paycheck Fairness Act. Newsweek. 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 April 2012. Blair, David, Regina Bringolf, Ruth Mayer, Susan Hay, Abigail A. Walton, Phyllis Zrazvy, Maude Salinger, and Steve Chase. Interview. 28 February 2012. Burrell, Barbara C. Women and Political Participation. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2004. Print. Crawford, Darlisa. Women Voters Key in 2004 Presidential Election. McCaffrey 140142. Haddock, Granny D Doris. Working Women Vote. Rolling Thunder, Manchester, NH. 20 September 2003. Keynote Address. Hilty, James. 2004: An Election for the Ages? McCaffrey 125-132. McCaffrey, Paul., ed. The Reference Shelf: The United States Election System. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2004. Print.

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Piven, Frances F., and Richard A. Cloward. Why Americans Still Dont Vote: And Why Politicians Want It That Way. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000. Print. Press, Bill. The Mommy Wars are back: And Republicans are losing! Orlando Sentinel. 23 April 2012. Web. 24 April. 2012. Smeal, Eleanor. HERVotes: Why Women Must Vote in 2012 Ms Magazine Blog. Web. 23 April 2012. Values: Marriage, Family, Life. Mitt Romney for President. Romney for President, Inc. Web. 23 April 2012.