Women's Voices. Women Vote. - News Articles

Expanding voter participation

2009-06-01T21:35:00Z

Almost half a year has passed, but the 2008 election still looms as an epochal event. With a record voter turnout, the American people, including members of many groups who have been excluded from the political process, changed the face of the nation’s leadership and the direction of our public policies.

By Page Gardner

Read the original article at Jacksboro Gazette News.

In many ways, this view is not only optimistic but realistic. More than 133 million Americans cast ballots in the election last year – the largest number of voters in U.S. history and 9 million more than in 2004. Four constituencies that have historically been under-represented – African Americans, Hispanics, unmarried women and young voters (ages 18-29) – provided the margin of victory for President Obama.

But the other side of the story is that 79 million eligible Americans did not vote. Forty-four million of these non-voters were not registered, and another four million were discouraged from voting because of burdensome policies, such as voter identification requirements.

Disproportionate numbers of non-voters belong to the very groups that have historically been excluded. African American turnout increased dramatically in 2008, but, in 2004, only 60 percent of African Americans voted. Meanwhile, in 2008, among voting-age Americans, 21.5 million young people, 20.4 million unmarried women, and 9.8 million Hispanics did not vote.

Why did 79 million Americans – more than the total population of Great Britain or France – not vote in an historic election after an exciting campaign? As Professor Nathaniel Persily of Columbia Law School testified before the Senate Rules Committee, “The United States continues to make voting more burdensome than any other industrialized democracy.”

As an organization focused on encouraging the political participation of the nation’s 53 million unmarried women, Women’s Voices. Women Vote recently released a report, “Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote” by Scott E. Thomas, former chairman of the Federal Elections Commission, and Alicia C. Insley and Jenifer L. Carrier.

The report found that many states have confusing and cumbersome registration requirements, limited options to cast ballots before Election Day, complicated voter ID requirements, inconsistent rules regarding casting and counting provisional ballots, and varied regulations regarding the maintenance of voter lists. These obstacles make registering and voting especially difficult for underrepresented groups who tend to move more often, have less formal education and income, hold jobs where they can’t take time off during the day, and, especially among immigrants, lack common forms of identification.

The best way to encourage voter participation is to enact a Federal Universal Voter Registration Act. This would establish a national mandate for universal voter registration within each state. Federal funds would be provided to the states to create permanent voter registration systems that will allow voters to stay on the rolls when they move.

Short of this comprehensive initiative, five other reforms would bring the nation closer to the goal of full voter participation.

First, same day registration would allow eligible Americans to register on Election Day. In the 2008 presidential election, voter participation rates were highest in the states that allowed same day registration – 69 percent, compared to 62 percent.

Second, there needs to be more clarity about voter qualifications, including whether people without permanent addresses or felons who have served their time are now eligible to vote. Qualifications should be similar in different states; the nation must not return to the days when arbitrary poll taxes and literacy tests set discriminatory standards in some parts of the country.

Third, registration deadlines should not vary from Election Day to a month or more before. Americans who are excited about a presidential campaign debate a week before the election should not be told it is too late to register and vote.

Fourth, registration should be brought into the 21st Century. Busy Americans should be allowed to register online so that they do not have to wait in line.

Fifth, there should be “no excuses” early and absentee voting. As of January, 2009, 32 states allow no-excuse early voting, 15 require excuses, and four do not allow early voting at all. There is no reason why states should not allow no-excuses early voting.

The U.S. still lags behind most other advanced democracies in the percentage of the population that votes in national elections. We can correct this condition by simply removing the obstacles to expanding American democracy.

Page Gardner is the president and CEO of Women’s Voices. Women Vote, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing the involvement of women in the public policy process.

Report Finds Declining Economy Disproportionately Impacts Unmarried Women

2009-04-28T22:00:00Z

Washington, D.C. – With unmarried Americans bearing a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic hard times, Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) today released a report titled, “The Economics of Unmarried America” aimed at drawing a clear and nonpartisan picture of the lives of unmarried Americans. The report’s findings were compiled by Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C.

Women’s Voices. Women Vote, Releases Economic Findings On Unmarried Women On Pay Equality Day

“While the country’s economic decline has touched all Americans, its effect on unmarried women has been devastating,” said Page Gardner, president and founder of WVWV, a national nonpartisan organization focused on the increased participation of unmarried women in the civic process.

Gardner continued: “With the report released today, on Equal Pay Day, we hope to spotlight their struggle, outlining for lawmakers that this is a population in need — a population of single mothers and fathers struggling daily just to keep their families fed and safe.”

Among the report’s key findings:

The unemployment rate for unmarried men (15.7%) is nearly double the overall national rate (8.5%), and unmarried women are unemployed at a higher rate as well at 9.6%. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009]
Unmarried women make just 57 cents on the dollar compared to married men. [U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008]
Of all American adults who live in poverty, unmarried women account for half. [U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey , 2007]
In the last year, 21 out of every 1,000 single mothers have filed for bankruptcy — in comparison, married couples with children filed at a rate of 15 out of every 1,000. [MSN Money, “7 Ways to Fight Off Bankruptcy”]
18.6 million unmarried Americans are uninsured. [National Health Interview Survey, 2007]

In many cases, unmarried women and men are trying to support not only themselves but children, too, and stimulus legislation and programs like SCHIP can help ease their economic burden.

“Unmarried women earn less, pay more toward housing, are more likely to live in poverty … this is not about politics,” said Gardner. “It’s about millions of women finding some relief from the ever-burgeoning struggle they attend to daily — for themselves and for their children.”

The full report of “The Economics of Unmarried America” may be found at: http://www.wvwv.org/research-items/the-impact-of-a-declining-economy-on-unmarried-women.

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Women's Voices, Women Vote, is a national nonpartisan organization that promotes the participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women in the democratic process. For more information, please visit our Web site: www.wvwv.org.

A budget for women

2009-04-22T22:23:00Z

By Page Gardner

As a woman, I was proud to help so many other women get registered to vote for the 2008 elections. “Women's Voices. Women Vote,” the organization that I founded, registered over 900,000 women in the months leading up to the November elections.

By Page Gardner>

Read the full op-ed at the Cranston Herald.

These women made the effort to get registered because they believed that change was possible. Then these same women came out in November and voted for change and for hope.

President Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget is an important next step in bringing about that change.

Why is President Obama's budget important to women? Women, and particularly unmarried women, have been disproportionately impacted by the current recession. Unmarried women face a much higher unemployment rate than Americans as a whole, are more likely to be uninsured and are paid substantially less than men. Women need the additional investments in health care, education and energy reform that are made possible by the proposed budget. Investing for long-term economic growth will mean tangible improvements in the lives of women across our country.

Let's look at health care coverage. Our research has shown that health care reform is the top public policy issue that unmarried women would like to advocate for and the dismal statistics help explain why.

According to a December 2008 report from the federal Centers for Disease Control, 21 percent of unmarried women aged 25 to 64 lacks any health insurance. And, as the economy continues to shed jobs, more and more women are losing their employer-sponsored health coverage and joining the ranks of the uninsured. In fact, a recent report from the Center for American Progress calculates that 14,000 Americans are losing their health coverage every day due to job loss. The proposed budget includes $632 billion as a down payment for a system of quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans. Now is the time to fix our health care crisis – this budget begins that process.

Now let's take a look at jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unmarried women experienced an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent in March 2009, compared to an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent for all Americans. It is vital that the federal budget funds specific programs that address this crisis and the budget proposal does just that.

This budget invests additional funds in high quality affordable early childhood programs like Head Start, to enable low-income mothers to have safe, affordable care for their children while they are at work. The budget increases funding for Pell Grants that make college more affordable, which opens doors to higher skilled jobs. Finally, the budget provides additional funds to train workers for the green jobs of the future, which means greater employment opportunities.

But how will we pay for it? This budget raises revenue for these critical investments by restoring fairness to the tax code after years of giveaways to the very wealthy and the largest corporations. Taxpayers with incomes over $250,000 (couple) or $200,000 (individual) would lose some of the tax breaks enacted in 2001 and 2003. Corporations would lose tax breaks that encourage them to move jobs and profits overseas and the big oil companies would lose special tax breaks as well.

Unmarried women came out to vote in record numbers last year because of hope for a better tomorrow. That was a first step but it is not enough. Now it's time to take the next step. It's time we agree to a budget that addresses the health care crisis, creates jobs and invests in education, from early childhood through college.

Page Gardner is the president and CEO of Women's Voices. Women Vote, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing the involvement of women in the public policy process.

Women's Voices Women vote proudly announces the release of its 2009 report entitled "Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote.

2009-04-20T14:00:00Z

In 2008’s Presidential election 133 million Americans cast ballots, which represents the largest number of voters to ever participate in a U.S. election. This result is certainly a great accomplishment; however, WVWV strongly believes that it is time for significant reform to ensure that the remaining 79 million Americans who were eligible, but did not cast their votes, are encouraged and able to do so in future elections.

WVWV has drawn on the substantial research efforts of leading reform groups, but takes a new look at the challenges facing voters, registration groups, and state and local officials by highlighting the disproportionate effect of existing laws on under-represented populations. While young voters, African Americans, Latinos, and unmarried women are now the majority of the population, exit polls from the 2008 general election show that in the aggregate, these groups represented only 46 percent of the 2008 electorate.

WVWV strongly believes that a key cause of such underrepresentation can be found in the confusing maze of election laws facing individuals, groups, and state officials in this country. WVWV's report focuses on five key areas where these laws pose the most significant obstacles and reform could yield the greatest positive results: (1) voter registration; (2) absentee voting and early voting; (3) voter identification requirements; (4) provisional ballots; and (5) voter lists.

Please note the following media coverage:

Chicago Sun-Times: Women's Voices. Women Vote report: Obstacles to Voting

2009-04-17T16:56:00Z

For Many, Tremendous Obstacles Remain in Accessing Democracy Comprehensive report released today by Women’s Voices. Women Vote outlines critical areas in need of election reform.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/04/womens_voices_women_vote_repor.html

For Many, Tremendous Obstacles Remain in Accessing Democracy Comprehensive report released today by Women’s Voices. Women Vote outlines critical areas in need of election reform.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/04/womens_voices_women_vote_repor.html

For Many, Tremendous Obstacles Remain in Accessing Democracy

2009-04-16T09:04:00Z

Washington, D.C.– Seeking to focus the attention of lawmakers and election reform groups on the obstacles to full participation of the American electorate and the path to election reform, Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) today released a comprehensive report titled, “Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote.” Consolidating a variety of studies from expert sources into one document, the findings confirm the most significant obstacles to voter participation and outline those election reforms which would yield the most positive results.

While the study discusses obstacles to voter participation in general, it focuses on the unique impact it has on traditionally under-represented groups who comprise the majority (52%) of the population — African Americans, Latinos, unmarried women and young voters — it is unmarried women who drive this majority and the mission of Women’s Voices Women Vote.

“Unmarried women are the fastest growing large demographic in the population, comprising 25% of the voting age population,” said Page Gardner, president and founder of WVWV, a national nonpartisan organization focused on the increased participation of unmarried women in the civic process.

“Challenges that affect unmarried women most particularly, include greater mobility and access to less economic resources — they have the highest poverty rate of any cross-section of the adult population,” said Gardner. “Yet it is exactly this portion of the population for whom we make voter registration most difficult in this country.”

According to the report, laws posing the most significant obstacles to voter participation fall into five key areas:

1. Voter Registration: controversies over voter registration produced more litigation than any other election issue in 2008, primarily due to outdated and problematic voter registration systems. By allowing reforms such as universal registration and greater uniformity of registration standards, many registration issues could be resolved.

2.Absentee and Early Voting: the rate of voters casting ballots via absentee or early voting methods is on the rise (38 million Americans in 2008). However, the rules surrounding these methods vary significantly from state to state. Given the increased flexibility of these voting methods, relaxing the requirements would increase participation of underrepresented populations, such as hourly workers who cannot afford to take time off from work.

3.Voter Identification Requirements: lack of consistency across state lines in relation to the types of ID required (e.g., driver’s license, proof of citizenship) as well as whether ID is required at all, make it confusing and cumbersome to register and/or cast a ballot.

4.Provisional Ballots: among the top five complaints logged by the Election Protection Coalition’s hotline during the 2004 election were problems with provisional ballots. While the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that voters not on the registration list or lacking proper ID be given a provisional ballot, the regulations surrounding this practice vary from state to state.

5.Voter Lists: state regulations are notably inconsistent when it comes to the maintenance of voter registration lists — from who updates them to how the state maintains them, whether state or local election officials allow for name variations, and how and when the lists are purged.

The full report, “Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote” may be accessed at the Women’s Voices Women Vote Web site by clicking here.

A Budget for Women

2009-04-03T17:53:00Z

As a woman and a Virginian, I was proud to help so many women get registered to vote for the 2008 elections. Women’s Voices. Women Vote, the organization which I founded, registered over 40,000 women in the state of Virginia in the months leading up to the November elections.

These women made the effort to get registered because they believed that change was possible. Then these same women came out in November and voted for change and for hope. Now, we must hold our elected leaders accountable for bringing about that change that we voters have demanded. President Obama’s fiscal year 2010 budget is an important next step in bringing about that change.

This column was originally published on April 3, 2009 at American Forum.

By Page Gardner

Why is President Obama’s budget important to women? Women, and particularly unmarried women, have been disproportionately impacted by the current recession. Unmarried women face a much higher unemployment rate than Americans as a whole, are more likely to be uninsured and are paid substantially less than men. Women need the additional investments in health care, education, and energy reform that are made possible by the proposed budget. These investments will mean tangible improvements in the lives of Virginia women.

Let’s look at healthcare coverage. Our research has shown that healthcare reform is the top public policy issue that unmarried women would like to advocate for, and the dismal statistics help explain why. According to a December 2008 report from the federal Centers for Disease Control, 21 percent of unmarried women aged 25 to 64 lack any health insurance. And, as the economy continues to shed jobs, more and more women are losing their employer-sponsored health coverage and joining the ranks of the uninsured. In fact, a recent report from the Center for American Progress calculates that 330 Virginians are losing their health coverage every day due to job loss. The proposed budget includes $632 billion as a down payment for a system of quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans. Now is the time to fix our health care crisis—this budget begins that process.

Now let’s take a look at jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unmarried women experienced an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent in February 2009, compared to an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent for all Americans. In Virginia, the unemployment rate went up by a full percentage point between December 2008 and January 2009. It is vital that the federal budget funds specific programs that address this crisis, and the budget proposal does just that. This budget invests additional funds in high quality affordable early childhood programs like Head Start, to enable low-income mothers to have safe, affordable care for their children while they are at work. The budget increases funding for Pell Grants that make college more affordable, which opens doors to higher skilled jobs. Finally, the budget provides additional funds to train workers for the green jobs of the future which means greater job opportunities.

But how will we pay for it? This budget raises revenue for these critical investments by restoring fairness to the tax code after years of giveaways to the very wealthy and the largest corporations. Taxpayers with incomes over $250,000 (couple) or $200,000 (individual) would lose some of the tax breaks enacted in 2001 and 2003. Corporations would lose tax breaks that encourage them to move jobs and profits overseas, and the big oil companies would lose special tax breaks as well.

Unmarried women came out to vote in record numbers last year because of hope for a better tomorrow. That was a first step, but it is not enough. Now it’s time to take the next step. It’s time we agree to a budget that addresses the healthcare crisis, creates jobs, and invests in education, from early childhood through college.

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS NUMBERS REINFORCE: UNMARRIED WOMEN MUCH HARDER HIT BY SHARP DOWNTURN

2009-03-06T19:21:00Z

Washington, D.C. – February’s unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released today, reinforces what one advocacy group has been emphasizing for years: Unmarried women are among the hardest hit during an economic crisis. The current overall unemployment rate is 8.1% and for unmarried women, 9.5% is not only higher than the national average, but is also essentially double that of married women (5.1%).

Unmarried women’s unemployment rate higher than national average at 9.5%

These statistics come as no surprise to the president of Women’s Voices, Women Vote (WVWV).

“While dramatic and significant, the unemployment statistics released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics come as no surprise,” said Page Gardner, president of Women’s Voices, Women Vote, a national nonpartisan organization that promotes the participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women in the democratic process.

Unmarried women also struggle with:

a tremendous pay gap – earning 56 cents for every dollar married men earn [Center for American Progress, 4/25/08];
insufficient savings – the median net worth of unmarried women is $12,900 – less than half that of unmarried men at $26,850 [Majority Staff of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 4/18/08];
lack of retirement security – more than one-third of single women report that they have saved less than $25,000 for retirement [Ninth Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, 9/17/08];
an increased rate of bankruptcy – single women are the demographic group most likely to file for bankruptcy and comprise 40% of all bankruptcy filings [MSN Money]; and
the highest poverty rate of any cross-section of the adult population –80% of all poor adult women are unmarried. [Center for American Progress, 10/08].

“Eighty-four percent of unmarried women stated, during the 2008 election, that they were ‘hopeful that we will see real change in the direction of this country.’ Right now, 83 percent of these women still hold out this hope,” said Gardner. “It is my hope that the numbers released today further inspire President Obama and Congress to enact legislation targeting the issues faced by unmarried women struggling to survive on their own in an uncertain economy.”

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The Crucial Question for President Obama: Will He Keep the Rising American Electorate Engaged?

2009-03-04T17:54:00Z

By Page S. Gardner
My recent memo to the progressive community demonstrates that unless progressives put forth a sustained effort to engage our base, there is likely to be a significant drop off in electoral participation in 2010.

By Page S. Gardner

Read the original article at Huffington Post.

My recent memo to the progressive community demonstrates that unless progressives put forth a sustained effort to engage our base, there is likely to be a significant drop off in electoral participation in 2010.

In his national televised address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama showed that he's listening to the Americans that chose him to change the direction of America. Looking beyond his just-enacted plan to jump-start the economy, he called for new investments to create well-paying jobs, improve education and training, make healthcare affordable and accessible, and increase the nation's supply of renewable energy. Now the prospects for his presidency hinge on whether he can deliver the type of changes that will improve the lives and livelihoods of the emerging electorate that put him in the White House.

Just as Barack Obama is a new kind of president, the voters who supported him represent a new Rising American Electorate based on four pillars -- unmarried women, Latinos, African Americans and youth (ages 18-29). Latinos and African-Americans accounted for a greater share of voters than ever before, and the nation is trending towards a non-white majority by 2040. Young people (ages 18-29) outnumbered Baby Boomers. Forty-seven percent of adult Americans were unmarried (up from only 27 percent in 1960), and 26 percent of eligible voters were unmarried women (about as large a share of the population as their married sisters). The majority of all American households is headed by an unmarried person.

Together, these segments of the new America -- unmarried women, African Americans Latinos, and young people -- accounted for 52 percent of all Americans who were eligible to vote, but they represented only 46 percent of all Americans who actually voted. Each of these four groups supported Barack Obama by a margin of at least two-to-one, and, together, they favored him over John McCain by 69 percent to 30 percent, while the rest of the country backed McCain over Obama by 58 percent to 41 percent. Follow this link to view the Advocacy and Agenda survey.

Historically shortchanged by the economic system and under-represented in the political system, the members of the Rising American Electorate voted in record numbers last year because they urgently want to change conditions in this country and they overwhelmingly believe that Obama will lead America in a new and different direction. For President Obama and the progressive majorities in the U.S. Senate and House, the challenge is to produce the changes that these disaffected Americans demand so that they will break with their usual tendency not to participate in mid-term elections, such as next year's contests for the U.S. House and Senate, Governors and State Legislatures.

These are among the results that Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found in research for Women's Voices. Women Vote (WVWV), an organization that seeks to inform, involve and enable the nation's 53 million single, separated, divorced and widowed women to participate in the democratic process. The largest group within the Rising American Electorate, these "women on their own" have tended to be earlier indicators -- canaries in the coal mine -- for the trends that are transforming this country, including economic insecurity, the demand for far-reaching change, and a continuing faith in President Obama's capacity to inspire and achieve that change.

Having experienced economic vulnerability earlier than most Americans, 27 percent of unmarried women now say that they are unemployed or only working part-time, and 61 percent of these women asses their own personal economic situation as "just fair/poor." This same number -- 61 percent -- want Congress to "take strong and aggressive action to increase the number of jobs," rather than worry about enacting "too many costly new government programs that increase the budget deficit." For this reason, 75 percent of unmarried women support the just-enacted economic recovery program, and these women also overwhelmingly endorse providing universal health insurance, immediately expanding coverage for families with children, increasing opportunities for college and career training, raising the minimum wages, promoting equal pay for working women, and expanding childcare programs.

As the president and members of Congress debate and decide these and other urgent issues, the decisive factor will be whether members of the Rising American Electorate, particularly unmarried women, continue to participate in politics, suspending their cynicism next year as they did last year. Among unmarried women, 84 percent of unmarried women believed at the time of the election last November that they were "hopeful that we will see real change in the direction of this country." Right now, 83 percent of these women still hold out this hope. Nonetheless, only 61 percent of unmarried women commit to voting in 2010, compared to 68 percent in the rest of the electorate and 75 percent of voters. Voters who are not part of the Rising American Electorate.

If President Obama and his allies in Congress can continue to inspire the faith of historically under-participating Americans, including women struggling to survive on their own in an uncertain economy, then they will succeed both in enacting their agenda and expanding the electorate. That would be good news not only for this administration but for American Democracy, which depends on the participation of all the people.

WVWV Applauds Passage of American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan Signed today by President Obama

2009-02-17T19:43:00Z

Statement by Page S. Gardner, President, Women’s Voices. Women Vote:

“Today’s signing of the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan by President Barack Obama is a much needed boost for not only the American economy generally, but for those who are among the hardest hit by this economic crisis.

“Unmarried women are suffering from the effects of this recession – the January 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistic numbers tell the story of the marriage gap. The current national unemployment figures show that, while married women were experiencing an unemployment rate of 4.9%, unmarried women had an unemployment rate of 9.3%—in other words, unmarried women had an unemployment rate that is almost double of married women.

"The economic downturn has had a catastrophic impact on the country and this economic recovery and reinvestment package comes at a critical time. This package will create much needed jobs and stability for families struggling to make ends meet,” Gardner concluded.

Statement by Page S. Gardner, President, Women's Voices. Women Vote:

Women's Voices. Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to educate unmarried women about participating in their government and in our democracy.

Women's Voices. Women Vote Urge Senate Passage of American Recovery & Reinvestment Plan as Critical for Unmarried Women

2009-02-06T22:48:00Z

Statement by Page S. Gardner, President, Women's Voices. Women Vote (www.wvwv.org):

"The U.S. Senate’s upcoming vote on the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is a much needed boost for not only the American economy generally, but for those who are among the hardest hit by this economic crisis.”

New Poll by WVWV shows overwhelming approval for the package

Statement by Page S. Gardner, President, Women's Voices. Women Vote (www.wvwv.org):

“Despite reports of sagging support for the stimulus, a new Women’s Voices. Women’s Vote. survey, shows broad approval for the package and the President. 66 percent of voters support the bill, just 29 percent oppose:

Question language: “As you may have heard, the Obama Administration and the Congress introduced e a major recovery package to create four million new jobs and jump start the economy. The plan would invest in infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, schools and invest new energy, cut taxes and extend unemployment and health care benefits for workers who have lost their jobs. It is likely that this package will cost as much as 850 billion dollars over two years. From what you have heard, do you favor or oppose this plan?”

“This package is supported by a huge majority of Democrats (90 percent), Independents (60 percent) and surprising number of Republicans (40 percent).

“This survey, conducted between January 22nd and February 3, 2009, by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, interviewed 1,659, 2008 voters on the stimulus package and other issues. The total margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.41 points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Women's Voices. Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to activate unmarried women to participate in their government and in our democracy.

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Statement by Page S. Gardner, President, Women’s Voices. Women Vote, on today’s unemployment numbers and the impact on unmarried women

2009-02-06T21:55:00Z

“Today’s unemployment numbers issued by the Labor Department, the worst unemployment numbers since 1974, paint a bleak story for the American economy, 7.6% unemployment overall. Unmarried women are unemployed at an even higher rate than the overall national average – Unmarried women’s’ unemployed rate is 9.3% while married women’s unemployed rate is below the national average at 4.9%.

“Today’s unemployment numbers issued by the Labor Department, the worst unemployment numbers since 1974, paint a bleak story for the American economy, 7.6% unemployment overall. Unmarried women are unemployed at an even higher rate than the overall national average – Unmarried women’s unemployed rate is 9.3% while married women’s’ unemployed rate is below the national average at 4.9%.

“By comparison, single women – widowed, divorced, separated – had an unemployment rate of 6.9% in December 2008.

“These staggering numbers prove, once again, why the President’s Reinvestment & Recovery Plan is so important and why it must be passed now.

“This is a critical time for this sector of the population – a sector whose voices were heard loud and clear this past election cycle. Since 2004, Women’s Voices Women Vote has worked to register unmarried women – an historically underrepresented demographic – and has generated over one million voter registration applications to date, including over 900,000 in 2008 alone.”

WVWV has worked to ensure unmarried women get out and vote through efforts including mailing approximately one million vote-by-mail applications to unmarried women in Colorado, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Nevada; calling over one million women asking them to “Promise” to vote; mailing voter information packets to unmarried women in 18 states; sending same-day registration packets to women in Wisconsin and Iowa; and placing a Public Service Announcement on national talk radio, in which Barbra Streisand urges women, particularly unmarried women, to vote.

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Statement by Page S. Gardner, President,Women’s Voices. Women Vote, on the passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Legislation

2009-02-04T23:01:00Z

“For the millions of unmarried women across American worrying about how to provide health care for their children, President Obama’s actions today reauthorizing and expanding SCHIP sends the message that change has come to Washington and help is on the way. Women’s Voices. Women’s Vote applauds the President for signing this critical piece of legislation that will preserve access to healthcare of low-income families.

“I commend the Senators and House Members, as well as President Obama who supported this legislation, which provides health care services critical to women who are struggling to provide for their families in these stressed economic times.

“Women on their own are the fastest growing large demographic in our country and nearly a fifth of whom are single moms, with children living at home.

“Unmarried women are 53 million strong, making them half of all women in our country. SCHIP is vital to this growing demographic, as 22 percent of these women on their own live below the poverty line. One in five unmarried women in our country does not have private health insurance and 28 percent of unmarried women rely on Medicare, compared to just 20 percent of married Americans.

“At a time when half of all children under six years old are living in a household with a single mother and are living in poverty, the signing of SCHIP into law today will strengthen American by keeping our most vulnerable mothers and children healthy.”

U.S. Senate Passage of State Children's Health Insurance Program Legislation Vital for Unmarried Women

2009-01-30T17:00:00Z

Statement by Page S. Gardner, president, Women’s Voices. Women Vote, on the vote by the U.S. Senate in favor of State Children’s Health Insurance Program legislation:

“Today the U.S. Senate passed State Children’s Health Insurance Program legislation, preserving access to healthcare of low-income families. I commend the Senators who support this legislation, providing services critical to women who are single, separated, divorced or widowed. Women on their own are the fastest growing large demographic in our country and nearly a fifth of whom are single moms, with children living at home.

Statement by Page S. Gardner, president, Women’s Voices. Women Vote, on the vote by the U.S. Senate in favor of State Children’s Health Insurance Program legislation:

“Unmarried women are 53 million strong, making them half of all women in our country. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program is vital to this growing demographic, as 22 percent of these women on their own live below the poverty line. One in five unmarried women in our country does not have private health insurance and 28 percent of unmarried women rely on Medicare, compared to just 20 percent of married Americans. At a time when half of all children under six years old are living in a household with a single mother and are living in poverty, the U.S. Senates passage of SCHIP today is essentially a vote to strengthen American through keeping our mothers and children healthy.

Lilly Ledbetter Act Passage Vital to Fight Discrimination - Especially for Unmarried Women

2009-01-29T18:33:00Z

Statement by Page S. Gardner, president, Women’s Voices. Women Vote, on the vote by the U.S. Senate on the Lilly Ledbetter Act:

“Today’s Senate vote is a great victory in providing equality for our nation’s women, especially those who are single, separated, widowed or divorced. Passage of the Lilly Ledbetter legislation today removes another road-block toward pay equality for unmarried women, who are supporting themselves and often their children on earnings that are only 56 percent of what married men earn. Victims of pay discrimination rarely realize any form of discrimination has occurred until after pay decisions are made. Many employers prohibit employees from discussing their pay with one another, leaving most workers in the dark about what their co-workers earn. Today’s Senate vote makes great stride against discrimination in our country, ensuring that each paycheck from a discriminatory pay decision would be a new violation of employment nondiscrimination law. The Lilly Ledbetter legislation encourages employers to comply with laws and provides victims of discrimination with the tools and information to fight workplace discrimination under the law.

“Today the U.S. Senate sent the message that in America, women should enjoy the same pay for the same work, and provides them the tools to fight against discriminatory actions in the workplace. Passing the Lilly Ledbetter legislation fights discrimination in our country, and is a giant step in paving the way for all women to enjoy the dignity of equality. I commend the Senators who supported this legislation, and I urge all of the Senators to also pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Senate must vote to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and finally give all women a fair chance to be paid what they deserve.”