NOW PAC, NOW Foundation, and NOW Inc. Webinar 10/7/2014

Bonnie Grabenhofer VP Action Kristina Romines Field Organizer Jan Erickson Govt Relations Director Linda Berg Political Director Pat Reuss Advisor to NOW PAC

Raise your Hand Are you currently working on a candidate campaign and/or ballot initiative?

 The RAE/Women’s Votes Make the Difference  If Republicans take the Senate  Voter Suppression  Candidate Opportunities and Feminist Field Force  What Chapters Can Do

 Unmarried Women (single, widowed, divorced or separated women)  People of Color  year olds = the majority of voting-eligible citizens in the United States today

 Barack Obama 2012 ◦ Women55% ◦ Men45%  Gender gap determined outcome in many senate races 10% Gender Gap Senate Majority

 Economic Issues ◦ Equal pay ◦ Raising the minimum wage ◦ Paid parental and sick leave ◦ Protections for pregnant women ◦ Affordable childcare ◦ Enhancing social security  Access to birth control and abortion care  Violence against women ◦ Adequately funding VAWA ◦ Protecting women from domestic violence and sexual assault  Marriage Equality/LGBTQIA rights

 Commit to electing feminists and working on ballot initiatives  Obtain voter commitment  Educate voters about midterm elections and why their votes are especially important  Emphasize what’s at stake ◦ Gain equality in issues that matter to women ◦ Use language such as “cut” or “take away” paired with critiques of Republican positions on economic issues and reproductive rights motivating to RAE

Consequences of Republicans Controlling both Houses Reproductive Rights Economic Justice, including pay equity Social Service programs critical for women and families

Republicans Will Attack Reproductive Rights Republicans Will Attempt to Pass a law that:  ends the no-copay contraception benefit under the ACA  makes it a federal crime for an adult to accompany a teenager across state lines for an abortion  reinstates a ban against military women and their dependents obtaining abortions overseas (with their own money)  bans abortions after 20 weeks except for life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest  bans abortion coverage in all state healthcare insurance exchanges  restricts small businesses from offering insurance policies that cover abortion services in the No Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Act  proposes a Fetal Personhood Constitutional Amendment, meaning that all abortions would be banned

 More bad legislation will pass House and Senate, forcing Obama to veto or accept these terrible bills  Republicans can paint Obama as the block to “important” legislation, not Republicans  May attempt to pass a limited Immigration Reform bill without path to citizenship, allocating billions more to border security  Reduce funding for:  Pell grants-Have already been cut up $50 billion, Republicans would cut it $90 billion more over 10 years  Food stamps- House passed a bill that would cut program $137 billion over 10 years  Education- House passed a bill that would cut funding to public schools by over $1 billion

Will undermine the Violence Against Women Act and cut back on funding for programs to prevent domestic violence /sexual assault and assist survivors Defund Title X, Domestic Family Planning funding, closing down many women’s reproductive health clinics  Reinstate non-factual abstinence-only education programs that have been shown to be ineffective  Pass “Right-to-Work” law to weaken unions  Vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act o The House has voted for repeal more than 50 times Go after Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (new agency that reins in harmful practices of banks) to give businesses more control

 Will refuse to pass any pay equity bill o Republicans blocked a Senate vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act  Will refuse to increase minimum wage (currently $7.25) or the tipped-minimum wage ($2.13 an hour)  Will refuse to approve paid parental and sick leave legislation  Will cut funding for violence against women programs  Will refuse to fund programs that will stimulate the economy and create jobs  Will cut taxes for upper income-earners and corporations  Will try to privatize Social Security and cut Social Security benefits for persons with disabilities

Tactics and What You Can Do

 Voter ID laws  Shortened early-voting periods  Obstacles for college students  Gerrymandering

 Require voters to provide official personal identification to vote ◦ Laws vary, with the strictest (9 states) requiring a government-issued photo ID ◦ Acquiring government-issued photo ID can be a very difficult process for many voters  Voter ID laws disproportionately affect women ◦ 1/3 of women have documents with different names due to name-change with marriage ◦ Similar issue with LGBTQIA voters

 Republican politicians are attempting to reduce the time for early-voting periods, creating an obstacle for many voters  Additionally, when available, early-voting periods are purposefully inconvenient ◦ Difficult for groups such as minimum wage workers who can’t leave work during the day  Shorter early-voting periods create longer lines on official Election Day ◦ Voters are discouraged or, in some cases, turned away due to overflow

 Voting locations ◦ Strategically located to make it difficult for college students (who often depend on public transportation) to get to the polls  Misinformation about absentee ballots  In some states, parents cannot claim children as dependents if the students vote in their school county rather than their home county

 The Republican Party has practiced gerrymandering to secure majority in the US House for the foreseeable future ◦ Most likely through 2020 ◦ Gerrymandering also ensures that moderate candidates are unable to win  In addition, Republicans have created super-majorities in state legislatures ◦ 26 state legislatures where they control both bodies ◦ 29 governorships

 Find out if there have been changes in: ◦ voter id requirements ◦ registration deadlines ◦ number and locations of polling places ◦ time and duration of voting period ◦ any other voter suppression tactic  Where to research ◦ ◦ ◦ state board of elections websites  Counter the effects by educating voters!

Select senate races chosen for their competitiveness and/or where women’s rights are most at stake this election

 Alaska  Arkansas  Colorado  Delaware  Georgia  Illinois  Iowa  Kentucky  Louisiana  Maine  Michigan  Minnesota  New Hampshire  New Mexico  North Carolina  Oregon  West Virginia Bold = endorsed as of 10/6 For more information visit resources/ resources/

Teams of activists on the ground New Hampshire - Jeanne Shaheen Kentucky - Alison Lundegran Grimes North Carolina - Kay Hagan Additional potential NOW State projects

 Phone from home in your spare time  Organize phone bank nights with your chapter To get involved

Campaigns, Ballot Initiatives, Voter Education

 Guidelines in the Political Organizing Manual. ◦ How to get there: NOW Leaders page  Chapter Management  NOW PAC Information  Tasks which can be done by a NOW member or chapter: ◦ Voter registration ◦ Phone banking ◦ Canvassing / Lit Drops ◦ Handing out leaflets ◦ Turning out folks for a rally or campaign appearance ◦ Putting up signs and flyers  Whenever you work on campaigns: ◦ wear NOW buttons and t shirts ◦ take initiative to improve stances on women’s issues—with candidates and the public. Don’t spend $ on federal campaigns

 Minimum wage increase : Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota  Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts  ERA and Immigration ballot measures in Oregon  Voting Rights: Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, Montana  Reproductive Justice: Colorado, Illinois, North Dakota, Tennessee, For more information visit resources/ resources/

 Your chapter can endorse or work on a ballot initiative whether or not it has a PAC.  Work with a statewide coalition ◦ Partner with Feminist Majority Foundation on reproductive rights ballot measures in CO, ND, and TN  Clarify the meaning of proposed amendments.  State a clear message. For example, “Vote No on 67, It Goes Too Far.”  For details on each of the ballot measures we are concerned about, visit election-resourceshttp://now.org/leaderdoc/2014-midterm- election-resources

 Make sure voters know: ◦ candidate stances on economic issues, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA rights and more ◦ key messages about a ballot measure ◦ changes in voter id requirements, registration deadlines, number and locations of polling places, time and duration of voting period, or any other voter suppression measure  You can educate voters through ◦ handing out candidate comparisons ◦ press releases ◦ letters to the editor ◦ social media ◦ events, panels, and forums 4 days before election are most crucial

Are you currently working on a candidate campaign and/or ballot initiative? Do you plan to?

Linda Berg Pat Reuss Jan Erickson Kristina Romines Bonnie Grabenhofer Election resources midterm-election- resources Endorsements CO, ND, TN Ballot Measures Feminist Majority FDN