Have your voice heard -- Get involved in the 2007 Legislature!
Did you know that only about 30% of low-income women are registered to vote?
When
low-income women don't vote, not only are they left out of the democratic
process as individuals, but the issues critical to their lives are not represented
in public policy decisions.
What does it say about the health of our democracy when people don't vote?
Voter turnout has been decreasing in this country for the last few decades. Montana Women Vote is committed to increasing the role of women's participation in all aspects of our democracy - through increasing voter turnout, providing information about candidates' stands on issues important to women and their families, and advocating for changes in public policy. In a democracy you can have power, but only if you participate.
The goal of Montana Women Vote
Montana Women Vote is a coalition of ten state-level organizations that share a common goal of educating and mobilizing low-income women, many of whom have never voted, to participate in the democratic process. Member organizations address issues of economic self-sufficiency, domestic violence and sexual assault, the environment, and reproductive rights. The organizations are Blue Mountain Clinic, the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Montana Human Rights Network, the NARAL ProChoice Montana Foundation, Planned Parenthood of Montana, Women's Opportunity and Resource Development Inc. (WORD), Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE), Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (WEEL), homeWORD and the YWCA.
Montana Women Vote reaches out to low-income women in Montana. Within that population, MWV targets younger women those who are newly voting age and women with children who may never have voted.
While the organizations that participate in MWV work on diverse issues, the common thread is the elimination of poverty for women and their families. MWV endeavors to show how domestic violence, the economy, access to quality health care and child care as well as damage from environmental toxins are all linked to the issue of poverty.
Why Don't More Low-Income Women Vote?
The following information is from national research done by Women's Voices Women's Vote and from focus groups conducted by Montana Women Vote.
- Women don't see politicians as caring about the issues that impact their lives. They don't see themselves or their issues reflected in the candidates who run for office or in the political rhetoric.
- Women don't want to cast an uninformed vote and may not know how to get information to help them. Women, more than men, don't want to be perceived as casting an irresponsible vote.
- Voting is a social habit. They may not have friends or family members who vote. Non-voting women often feel like no one asks them or cares if they vote.
- Women in the Montana focus groups were not informed about the kinds of budgeting and policy decisions the state legislature makes and how these decisions have an impact on funding for child care, child health insurance, and education. When women have the information, they feel very passionately about getting involved.
Do you want to...