The quality of life in a community is directly related to the well-being of women and their access to healthcare, education, economic opportunity and safe environments, research shows. But many of the women who would benefit most by using their power to change policy makers at the local, county and state level don’t vote.
On Saturday June 25th, The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade launched a new campaign to make sure that doesn’t happen in the upcoming August primary and November general elections.
The See Her Vote campaign is a new non-partisan initiative to educate and activate women voters throughout the county, with special focus on the communities of Homestead, Florida City, Opa-Locka and Miami Gardens. These communities had the lowest turnout in the past two presidential election cycles and are home to 7% of all the women in Miami-Dade County, many of whom are living in poverty or are Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed (ALICE). The campaign aims to educate women on the election issues that most powerfully affect their lives. In these communities, the campaign aims to engage 16,000 women through surveys, face-to-face contact, community events and partner organizations, and turn out 3,500 women on Election Day who are aware of the issues and prepared to vote in their own interests.
“The presidential candidates’ positions are well-known,” said The Women’s Fund Executive Director Marilyn March, “but the local, county and state races really decide who makes policy on issues like pay equity and domestic violence. How can we know who to vote for, if their positions aren’t shared?”
The See Her Vote campaign will aggregate and disseminate this important information across the county. More than just women’s issues, these affect all residents of Miami-Dade County.
Saturday’s launch included a volunteer phone bank that reached 869 potential voters, the first in a series of efforts to get out the vote. On the same day, The Women’s Fund representatives joined The League of Women Voters and the Democratic Women’s Club of Miami Gardens in their own events. At the Miami Gardens event, representatives of the Labor Council For Latin American Advancement trained volunteers to register voters. Partnering with other organizations like these will allow the See Her Votecampaign to spread rapidly across the community.
“Women have so much to gain by electing candidates – from the school board to the state legislature – who align with their views,” said board chair Janet Kyle Altman. “We are eager to share what we learn from our candidate surveys, to help everyone make good choices.”
Learn more and add your support at www.seehervote.org.