Most Nation readers don’t need to be told that they should vote. But an astounding number of eligible Americans regularly forgo their electoral rights.
Not many more than half of all eligible voters chose to pull the lever (or these days, push the button) in 2004’s presidential race–often cited as the “most important election” of our collective lifetimes. The numbers of eligible voters coming out to midterm elections is even lower still–close to 35 percent in 2002.
Women’s Voices, a non-profit group, is focusing its efforts on getting America’s fastest-growing demographic out to the polls next Tuesday–Unmarried women. In 2004, the group held programs and ran ads in sixteen hotly-contested states. The result: unmarried female turnout increased by 8.25 percent over 2000. Now, the group is rolling out a new series of TV spots designed to motivate women to vote next week.
Click here to check out one of the most powerful ads of the group–a spot by New Orleans-based singer Renee Wilson on Hurricane Katrina and why it’s important to vote, and volunteer to help Women’s Voices get people out to the polls on Tuesday.