About Montana Women Vote
Montana Women Vote (MWV) is a coalition of non-profit women's organizations working statewide to educate and mobilize low-income women and their allies to participate in the democratic process.
The founding organizations created MWV in 2000 in response to the profound lack of support and attention by elected officials for women's, particularly low-income women's, concerns. The coalition realized the low-income women they served had a very low voter turnout rate (30-40 percent -- about half of Montana's average turnout). This low turnout meant low-income women had little say in electing their representatives and in turn, elected officials felt little accountability to support issues important to them.
Apathy is not the root of this situation. Rather, we find women do not participate because they have not yet connected how policy affects their daily lives; they lack the information they need to feel like informed voters or policy advocates; they do not feel welcome to participate; and/or they face logistical challenges in getting to the polls. By registering, educating and mobilizing unlikely women voters into a formidable voting block that supports real progressive policy change, MWV helps empower women to make positive change in their communities and our state.
Over the past two election cycles MWV has registered over 10,000 unlikely voters, a large majority being low-income women, and achieved a 77% turnout rate. MWV has distributed voter guides informing of candidates positions and ballot initiatives that impact low-income women to over 20,000 Montanans. MWV also develop comprehensive legislative policy agendas and carries the energy of this engaged voting block into the state legislature to advance policies supporting women and families in the areas of economic security, reproductive health care, domestic violence and sexual assault, health care, human rights, and environmental health.
2008 Accomplishments
-
Organized voter registration, education and mobilization in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Helena, Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley outreaching to an additional 4600 women.
-
Distributed voter guides to 23,000 people informing of candidates’ positions and ballot initiatives important to women and families.
-
Gathered signatures and are educated voters for the successful Healthy Montana Kids (1-155) ballot initiative and worked against the C-100 “life begins at conception” initiative as part of the Safe and Healthy Families Coalition
-
Expanded the involvement of constituents via our Leadership Development Programs in Missoula, Helena and Great Falls
