EMILYs List and ECU // LAV Travel to Colorado For Roundtable
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2022
EMILYs List and ECU // LAV Travel to Colorado For Roundtable with Secretary of State Jena Griswold, State Sen. Julie Gonzales, and State Rep. Meg Froelich
Focusing on the intersection of reproductive rights and voting rights, this roundtable reminded voters that our democracy is on the ballot this November
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler joined End Citizens United // Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller in Denver, Colorado to host a roundtable discussion on the intersection of reproductive rights and voting rights. The event took place at Wah Gwaan Brewing Company—a Jamaican woman-owned brewery—and included Secretary of State Jena Griswold, state Sen. Julie Gonzales, and state Rep. Meg Froelich. With 60 days until the election, these champions of expanding access to the ballot box and sponsors of Colorado's Reproductive Health Equity Act celebrated the proactive efforts of state legislators to protect abortion for Coloradans, highlighted Republican anti-democracy extremism, and reminded voters that abortion and access to fair and free elections are on the ballot across the nation this November, no matter where you live.
This event was a joint stop on EMILYs List’s Run. Win. Change the World Tour, which aims to show voters that when Democratic pro-choice women are elected up and down the ballot, they protect our rights and can change the world, and End Citizens United // Let America Vote’s Sprint to Save Democracy Tour, which aims to support candidates who will protect the voice and vote of every American.
“We are supporting candidates and committed to the mission of electing Democratic pro-choice women because it is the best demonstration of how those candidates are going to show up to change the world,” said President of EMILYs List Laphonza Butler. “We have to ensure freedom is not dictated by your zip code… Now, we must do everything with the tools we have today to ensure the next generation’s tomorrow is what they deserve. We’re in a hard moment, but we are made to do hard things.”
“We’re seeing the worst attack on democracy in recent times…The big lies are being used as a political tool used to fuel voter suppression, the destabilization of elections, and Americans' distrust,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “When it comes to protecting democracy, women, and the right to abortion and reproductive health care, I don't think there could be a more important election… And we get to protect everything in 60 days.”
“If there is one thing this radicalized Supreme Court will be known for, it's overturning Roe v. Wade, and if there is a second piece that they are going to be known for, it's dismantling our democracy over the past decade,” said ECU // LAV President Tiffany Muller. “More than half the country, fifty-two percent, has somebody who wants to overturn the election on the ballot right now and eighty oath keepers are running in the general election. This is the year that we decide whether or not we are protecting our democracy.”
“As a woman of color, I think it’s important that women of color are also involved in framing and leading this work around policies that will impact our bodies,” said state Sen. Julie Gonzales. “The Reproductive Health Equity Act has its roots in women running for and winning elected office and women who were unwilling to sit back and play defense… We want to protect the decisions that pregnant Coloradans make about their own bodies, and no politician should get in the way of that decision.”
“What we are seeing is that the actions of the Supreme Court have awakened people to the fundamental rights that are at stake,” said state Rep. Meg Froelich. “We have already established the fundamental right to abortion in Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act but without access, these rights are just relegated to a piece of paper… Now we need to reelect the Democratic pro-choice majority in Colorado and ensure that millions of people coming from outside of Colorado, our providers, and our Coloradoan patients are protected.”
Photos of the event are available upon request
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised over $700 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure campaigns for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,400 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
