I have spoken with many women how have said that they just aren ‘ t going to vote. I always respond, ‘ But you have to! ‘
According to exit polls, 53 percent of people who voted in the 2012 election were women. In most states, more women than men are registered to vote, and there is a much higher turnout rate for women at the polls.
These numbers mean power. And it’s time for women to wield that power.
#1 – To honor the women who came before:
The battle for a woman ‘ s right to vote started in the early 1800s with Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott, among others, working hard to establish women ‘ s equality with men.
For almost 100 years, women fought for that equality, part of which was the right to vote. They were humiliated and discriminated against, the subject of derision and sometimes violence for their efforts. They didn ‘ t give up. Even when imprisoned and forced to hunger strike, these women fought on.
It wasn ‘ t until 1920 that the US government passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. Even so, many states didn ‘ t ratify the amendment for years. Mississippi didn ‘ t do so until 1984, 60 years later and only 32 years ago.
32 years ago, women in Mississippi could not vote.
Don ‘ t take a right to vote for granted. It was hard fought for, and we women must proudly exercise our rights.
#2 – To honor the women we are now:
Much is being said these days about the persistent lack of equality for women worldwide. Women make less money on the dollar than men in the workplace. Ambitious women are labeled ‘ bitches. ‘ Women are discriminated against for getting pregnant or caring for children. Women are subjected to emotional and physical abuse by bosses and husbands.
It is time for this to end. And it will only end if we women take a stand.
In her book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg talks about how women are held back but also how we hold ourselves back. She makes the argument that women need to advocate more for themselves, to believe themselves equal to men, to not allow discrimination to hold them back from anything.
She says that it is up to us to change our stars. No one else will do it for us.
Voting is one way for us to do this, to ‘ Lean In.” We have the right to vote. We have the right to have a say in our nation’s politics. We have the right to use our voices, which we often only whisper with, to bring about real change.
#3 – Because every vote counts:
I know it doesn ‘ t seem that way. Presidents have been elected, although they didn ‘ t win the popular vote. But your vote matters, particularly in your home state.
Each state has a different number of electoral votes, which is based on the total of all of its representatives in Congress, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. A candidate needs 270 of those electoral votes to win the presidency.
In most states, for a candidate to win that state and its corresponding electoral votes, he or she must receive the majority of the popular vote. This is where your vote counts. Your vote will contribute towards a candidate winning or losing, a state which will determine the outcome of the presidential campaign.
If you don ‘ t cast your vote, your candidate could lose your state and, ultimately, the presidency.
#4 – Because important women ‘ s issues are now at stake:
More than ever, important women ‘ s issues are at stake, and the next president could have a huge hand in which direction those women ‘ s issues go.
At issue right now is:
*A woman ‘ s right to access Planned Parenthood
*Paid family leave
*Income equality
*Minimum wage increases
*Debt-free education
The outcome of these issues will greatly impact our lives and the lives of our daughters and granddaughters. We can ‘ t just sit back and think that ‘ everyone else ‘ will do this. We need to exercise our right to make a real difference by voting.
#5 – To set a good example for our children:
I remember in 1976; my mother took me with her to vote. It was the year that Jimmy Carter was running against Gerald Ford. This was not a campaign that had electrified the nation.
I remember driving to the voting booth and my mother telling me about my great-grandmother (and namesake), who fought for the right to vote, and how her lawyer husband fought alongside her (and got her out of jail when imprisoned). She impressed upon me the importance of voting out of respect for our grandmothers and those who fought alongside them.
I went into the voting booth with her and watched her cast her vote. And we got ‘ I VOTED ‘ stickers afterwards, which was huge.
Our children increasingly take a right to vote for granted and are disillusioned by modern politics. We need to teach them to demonstrate to them how important this fundamental American right is.
And how by doing so they can make a real difference.
Every American has the right to vote, which shouldn ‘ t be ignored, dismissed, or taken for granted. Without it our country would be a different place.
And we women have the power to change things in so many ways. Voting is one of them. So get out and vote this year.
Let’s change the world!
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I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention, Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.
