WOMEN VOTE!

The key to Democratic victory. Women, who make up the majority of the electorate, have the power to decide elections -- if they vote. That’s why Democrats are depending on EMILY’s List, the nation’s expert on women voters, to get them to the polls. We use sophisticated market research to develop compelling messages and a wide variety of communications tools to reach out to women voters and help them make informed decisions. Then EMILY’s List carries out a massive grassroots get-out-the-vote effort in the weeks leading up to election day, mobilizing women voters to deliver victory for Democrats. Year after year, one thing has become clear: when women vote, women -- and Democrats -- win.

Creating synergy up and down the ballot. Pro-choice Democratic women are running for Congress, governor, and state office in presidential battleground states where a strong turnout of women voters will be the key to presidential victory. With 25 open GOP-held House seats, we have unprecedented opportunities to elect a historic number of new women to Congress this November and strengthen the Democratic majority. EMILY’s List is working with candidates in New Hampshire, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, Arizona, Florida, and Colorado -- all states whose electoral votes are critical to electing a Democratic president. Democrats can’t take back the White House without women voters -- and primary exit polling shows that women are turning out in even higher numbers than recent presidential election years.

Ending the Bush era. Our new Democratic president will need stronger Democratic majorities in the House and Senate to put an end to Republican gridlock and enact a progressive agenda that will reverse the disastrous policies of the Bush years. EMILY’s List is working to raise a prospective $15 million budget for the 2008 WOMEN VOTE! project. With WOMEN VOTE! 2008 slated to be the biggest effort in the program’s 13-year history, every dollar from generous EMILY’s List members is vital to its success -- and the success of Democrats up and down the ballot.

More about WOMEN VOTE!

With 32 GOP House members not seeking re-election in 2008, women have unprecedented opportunities to win this November and strengthen the Democratic majorities in Congress. EMILY’s List is working with more than two dozen targeted campaigns, raising money for recommended candidates and providing training and strategic guidance.

But the critical third step of EMILY’s List’s strategy for electing pro-choice Democratic women at every level -- mobilizing women voters -- depends on strong member support for EMILY’s List’s WOMEN VOTE! 2008, the most comprehensive and costly effort in EMILY’s List history.

“Democrats are energized by the prospect of taking back the White House, and WOMEN VOTE! will play a key role,” says Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List. “But electing a Democrat to the White House is just part of the equation. We must build working Democratic majorities in the House and Senate to end Republican gridlock and deliver a progressive agenda that will reverse the disastrous policies of the Bush years. Democrats are relying on EMILY’s List to mobilize key groups of women voters who will give our pro-choice women candidates -- and all Democrats, from president down to state and local races -- the margin of victory in 2008.”

In the 2008 election cycle, WOMEN VOTE! has already energized record numbers of women voters in a dozen primary or special elections, with several more ahead. Continued support from members will make a huge impact in the general election campaign to help Democrats win up and down the ballot.

The program

Women are a majority of the population, a majority of consumers, a majority of college graduates, and a majority of the electorate (54 percent in the last presidential election). Their votes can have a huge influence on the outcome of elections. When they go to the polls, as they did in 2006, Democrats win, because women voters tend to favor Democratic candidates. When they stay home, as in 1994, Republicans win.

“This difference in voting behavior, the gender gap, overwhelmingly favors Democrats,” says Maren Hesla, director of WOMEN VOTE!. Exit polls from 2006 show that 55 percent of women voted for Democratic congressional candidates, compared to 50 percent of men. The gap was higher in individual races. In Minnesota, Democratic Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar won with a 19-point gender gap; in Missouri, Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill won with an 11-point gender gap. EMILY’s List mobilized women voters in these and other winning races, fueling a Democratic wave that helped take back Congress.

The WOMEN VOTE! strategy to mobilize women and maximize the gender gap rests on three pillars:

• Targeting. Through an exhaustive examination of voter rolls and polling data, EMILY’s List identifies the best opportunities to mobilize women who are receptive to the Democratic message, particularly those with sporadic voting histories.
• Research. EMILY’s List uses sophisticated survey and market research techniques to identify key segments of the female electorate and develop messages that will resonate with them. EMILY’s List’s national Women’s Monitor research, which tracks the female electorate, is an invaluable resource for the entire Democratic community for understanding women voters.
• Voter contact. In the weeks leading up to election day, EMILY’s List uses phone, mail, broadcast media, email, the Web, instant messaging, and face-to-face campaigning to motivate women voters on behalf of pro-choice Democratic women and Democrats up and down the ticket.

Sophisticated research, effective techniques

EMILY’s List is a pioneer in the Democratic community in the political use of micro-targeting. “With micro-targeting, we can isolate individual voters based on their political beliefs and core values,” says Hesla. “We can identify voters who are most likely to support our candidates or most open to persuasion, assess their likelihood of voting, and tailor communications to their issue priorities. We append the data to voter files and make it available to the Democratic Party and progressive allies.”

Along with micro-targeting, WOMEN VOTE! uses a proven formula for voter contact called “sandwiching.”

“Research shows that people remember messages better when they receive phone calls before and after receiving a mail piece,” Hesla says. “We saw this in 2006 in Michigan, where we contacted voters by phone, then by mail, then again by phone.” Post-election research showed that women who received sandwiches voted in higher numbers, held sharper perceptions of the candidates for governor, and reported higher support for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “We are using this proven technique extensively in 2008,” notes Hesla.

In addition to traditional voter contact, WOMEN VOTE! is helping women find political information through email, the web, instant messaging, and text messaging. “We drive traffic to WOMEN VOTE! web sites by placing ads on political blogs, media sites, and sites with high female traffic, like WebMD, Epicurious. com, and MapQuest,” says Hesla. “We will go wherever women are on the web to get them to the polls for Democrats.”

“Women want to be a part of a community,” Malcolm adds. “They are looking for credible information about the issues and candidates -- and they’re finding it online with WOMEN VOTE!.”

WOMEN VOTE! 2008

WOMEN VOTE! is targeting specific groups of women who are key to Democratic victory in 2008 -- particularly women without college degrees. With WOMEN VOTE! 2008 slated to be the most ambitious effort in the program’s 13-year history, every dollar from EMILY’s List members is vital to its success and that of Democrats up and down the ballot.

The 2008 presidential primaries highlighted the difference women’s votes can make. Women voted in dramatically higher numbers in Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, creating a gender gap that benefited Hillary Clinton. EMILY’s List, which en - dorsed Clinton, mobilized women voters in primaries and caucuses, encouraging and empowering women to participate through direct contact, email, and the internet. We created web sites featuring instructions on caucusing and testimonials from women with experience caucusing in the past. In states with primary voting, WOMEN VOTE! directly mobilized women to vote absentee or at the polls, targeting Hispanic women, working women, non-college-educated women, seniors, and other key groups.

House campaigns in states like Massachusetts, Virginia, and Colorado and gubernatorial primaries in North Carolina and Indiana provide opportunities to refine the WOMEN VOTE! strategy while simultaneously educating women voters on the issues and mobilizing them on behalf of EMILY’s List candidates. As of July 2008, WOMEN VOTE! has sent more than 2.5 million pieces of mail, made nearly one million phone calls, and more than 2,400 radio ads to turn out women voters.

Synergy on the ballot

Pro-choice Democratic women candidates are running in swing states where turnout is critical to Democratic victory for president, Congress, and the state legislature.

New Hampshire is a case in point. It is a presidential battleground state whose electorate is evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Democrats won control of both congressional seats and the state Senate and House in 2006. In 2008, EMILY’s List has endorsed Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the former governor who is challenging GOP Sen. John Sununu in a high profile race. Democratic Gov. John Lynch is up for re-election. Both U.S. representatives, Paul Hodes and Carol Shea- Porter, have been targeted for defeat by Republicans (EMILY’s List has endorsed Shea-Porter). And with women leading both chambers of the state legislature (Senate President Sylvia Larsen and House Speaker Terie Norelli), Democratic victory in legislative races is especially important to EMILY’s List.

In Ohio, whose 20 electoral votes are critical to winning the White House, EMILY’s List has endorsed Mary Jo Kilroy’s bid for an open, GOP-held House seat. Democrats picked up seven seats in the state House in 2006; Democrats must protect these gains and win four more seats to take control. POP (the Political Opportunity Program) is working with candidates who lost narrowly in 2006 and are running again.

Other states with overlapping concerns include Missouri, Florida, and Colorado. EMILY’s List is working with congressional candidates in these states, while POP is working with women running locally. In addition, EMILY’s List is supporting gubernatorial candidates Jill Long Thompson in Indiana and Bev Perdue in North Carolina, where there are targeted congressional battles, including North Carolina state Sen. Kay Hagan’s challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

A typical WOMEN VOTE! campaign in a House district costs around $250,000; statewide campaigns are more expensive. EMILY’s List is working to raise $15 million for WOMEN VOTE! 2008.

With the White House up for grabs and a record number of open House seats in play, Malcolm says this is the most important WOMEN VOTE! project in EMILY’s List history. “Consolidating Democratic control of Congress by electing progressive Democratic women will be vital to undoing the Bush agenda — and expanding Democratic gains in the states is critical as the 2010 Census and redistricting approach,” she says. “But we need tremendous resources to reach the women whose votes will make the difference in 2008. Member support for WOMEN VOTE! will help us drive women to the polls who will make the winning difference for Democrats. Then we can begin the hard work of restoring progressive values to our government.”

July 2008