Winning the Political Argument for Voting Rights Means Electing Women

Suzy Smith, executive director, Let America Vote

The stats coming in from our boots-on-the-ground team are astounding. Over 220,000 doors knocked in a little over three months, and 1 million voter contacts attempted since we launched Let America Vote.

Here’s the metric I’m most excited to share: 73 percent of the candidates supported by Let America Vote’s coordinated campaign are women.

This is not by design. We support and knock on doors for voting-rights champions, and choose candidates based on their support for expanding access to the ballot box. It just so happens that mission coincides with electing women.

A record number of women are running for state legislative office this year. If success rates hold stable, nearly 40% of elected state legislators could be women in 2019. That would be astounding.

The work we’re doing now to elect women who stand up for voting rights will have an impact on state and national policy in the coming years. Women who are elected to state assemblies and state senate seats this year will go on to run for Congress, secretary of state and governor in years to come.

Their leadership in the next few decades could have profound effects on expanding access to the ballot box. Imagine restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, or passing national automatic voter registration legislation in Congress. That could be in our future if we win these state legislative races in 2018, and Let America Vote candidates are elevated to continue fighting for voting rights.

In the midterm elections, we’re going to create political consequences for politicians who suppress the vote. We’re also going to elect dozens of women who will go on to expand access to the ballot box for decades to come. You can join us by texting VOLUNTEER to 44939.