Montana Women Vote, Vote and Vote

True to their name, Montana Women Vote, a recent three-year grantee, has been turning out thousands of voters to the Montana polls, many of them unlikely voters voting for the first time. How have they been getting unlikely voters to the polls? By bringing state politics directly into their homes and their lives.

“When the women we work with aren’t voting, it’s for legitimate reasons,” explains Montana Women Vote’s Alysha Goheen Jannotta, “They don’t see a connection between state politics and their daily lives, or they don’t feel informed enough about the issues, or find it challenging to get to the polls.”

Montana Women Vote is addressing voting barriers one at a time, registering first-time voters, following up with mailings and community meetings on issues that affect their lives, and then doing get-out-the-vote activities on Election Day.

Their success is visible in the increased voter turnout in this latest election. Mid-term elections usually result in a lower turnout than presidential elections, but in 2006 there was a surprisingly high turnout in five areas where Montana Women Vote focused their efforts. Montana Women Vote signed up over 3,000 people across the state (mostly women) at grocery stores, social service agencies, and door-to-door. They followed up with educational mailings (including absentee ballot applications and voter guides) to their 10,000-person database, and distributed another 3,000 guides to constituents through door-to-door work and still more community outreach.

How does an organization with two staff people reach thousands? By bringing together ten powerful organizations committed to involving their members in the political process that affects their lives – issues like affordable housing, health care, and quality education. Members include WEEL (Working for Equality and Economic Liberation), NARAL Pro-Choice Montana, the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and the Blue Mountain Clinic. Member organizations share their resources so that they can accomplish much more than any of them could on their own.

“We all agree that we need to eliminate poverty in the lives of Montana’s women. Domestic violence, the economy, access to quality health care and child care, damage from environmental toxins, these are all linked to the issue of poverty. These are issues Montana can and should address by empowering the women most affected to become informed voters, advocates and leaders.” says Alysha.

Montana Women Vote at Capitol International Women's Day 2007Montana Women Vote is on the forefront of eliminating poverty in Montana. They were part of the successful push in 2006 to raise Montana’s minimum wage, and so far this year, they’ve mobilized hundreds of members to contact legislators to:

• make contraceptives more accessible and affordable in local clinics
• expanded the state’s Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• support domestic violence survivors with better advocacy options

These are significant changes in a state with a conservative reputation. But Montanans may not be as conservative as their state government has been. For about fifteen years, state legislation has been favoring out-of-state interests and neglecting it own citizens, but as politicians get a sense that people are interested and engaged, their priorities shift.

Last year Montana Women Vote published a report card on the Governor, and earlier this year the Governor as well as many state legislators met with Montana Women Vote’s leaders to hear about their legislative agenda.

Montana Women Vote will be building on their past successes to make even more of an impact in the 2008 election and beyond. Over the next few years, they’ll be using their latest grant from Social Justice Fund to build their leadership, engage their base and sustain year-round organizing. To learn more about their amazing work, check out their website: www.montanawomenvote.org