EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! Launches Massive Voter Education Project In Battleground States

WASHINGTON – EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, and its independent expenditure arm, WOMEN VOTE!, held a conference call with media this afternoon to detail a voter education program aimed at independent women in battleground states from coast to coast.

This voter education program is the culmination of a year of research into independent women voters. Extensive surveys and focus groups in battleground states showed us that these women thought Washington was broken, and that when informed about the Republican agenda, they found it a convincing reason not to vote for Republicans. This research was then applied to a survey in battleground states and districts to determine which women to communicate with.

“This is really a perfect storm election for us, with women voters playing a decisive role, at a time when Republicans have chosen to prioritize issues that women don’t like and don’t want to vote for – at a moment where we have an unprecedented number of very strong Democratic women candidates,” said EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock.

Today, EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock and WOMEN VOTE! Director Denise Feriozzi revealed the voter education program developed based on our research:

NV-SEN: WOMEN VOTE! plans to communicate with over 48,000 independent women voters, a group key to Sen. Harry Reid’s 2010 victory about Sen. Dean Heller’s record including votes to defund Planned Parenthood and his support of the Blunt Amendment through direct mail and online advertising.

For more on the Nevada program see: www.nevadawomenvote.org

WI-SEN: Targeting swing voters statewide on former Governor Tommy Thompson’s work on behalf of corporate special interests at the expense of Wisconsin’s working families. WOMEN VOTE! has been running TV and online ads since July and plans to continue through the election. 

For more on the Wisconsin program see: www.wisconsinwomenvote.org

HI-SEN: WOMEN VOTE! plans to communicate with Hawaii’s women voters statewide on TV and online, nearly 60% of women voters find Lingle’s irresponsible budget that slashed funding for Hawai’i schools and resulted in 17 furlough Fridays a convincing reason not to vote for her.

For more on the Hawai’i program see: www.hawaiiwomenvote.org

AZ-01: Polling from earlier this month showed Republican Jonathan Paton’s extreme position on women’s health care is the single highest testing negative among women voters. WOMEN VOTE! will send 8 mail pieces educating Democratic and independent women voters on his record on women’s health.

FL-10: Through a robust ten-piece direct mail program and targeted ads WOMEN VOTE! will reach out to nearly 30,000 women voters whom polling shows can be motivated by education on Daniel Webster’s dangerous record on women’s health.

For more on the Florida program see: www.floridawomenvote.org

IL-17: WOMEN VOTE! will target approximately 23,000 independent and Democratic women voters through a nine-piece direct mail program. 55% of women are less likely to support Schilling after learning about his extreme record on women’s health.

WA-01: A poll commissioned in August shows that in this competitive district, the swing independents will decide the race. The poll showed that this district leans Democratic, and rejects extremist Tea Party politics like those of John Koster. In conjunction with SEIU, WOMEN VOTE! will launch a direct mail campaign targeting independent women voters to educate them on Koster’s extreme record.

New Hampshire: Polling shows that the single most effective message in New Hampshire is the Republicans’ positions on women’s health and reproductive freedom. WOMEN VOTE! will be targeting and educating over 50,000 pro-choice independent women voters through direct mail, online and radio through Election Day.

For more on the New Hampshire program see: www.newhampshirewomen.org

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,600,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice, Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.