[LWVNM Action] PEW Research- Women and People of Color are key to this election! We must counter misinformation and voter suppression!

[Meredith Machen]

Men and women in the U.S. continue to differ in voter turnout rate, party
identification
 
BY  <https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/ruth-igielnik> RUTH IGIELNIK
A century after the
<https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment-1> 19th
Amendment gave women the right to vote, about half of U.S. adults (49%) -
including 52% of men and 46% of women - say granting women the right to vote
has been the most important milestone in advancing the position of women in
the country, relative to other notable events and achievements, according to
a recent
<https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/07/07/a-century-after-women-gained-the
-right-to-vote-majority-of-americans-see-work-to-do-on-gender-equality/> Pew
Research Center survey.
And women have largely exercised this right: In every U.S. presidential
election dating back to 1984, women reported having turned out to vote at
slightly higher rates than men, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau
data by the Center. At the same time, the gender gap in party affiliation
continues to widen. 
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/18/men-and-women-in-the-u-s-co
ntinue-to-differ-in-voter-turnout-rate-party-identification/
 
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/10/06/amid-national-reckoning-americans
-divided-on-whether-increased-focus-on-race-will-lead-to-major-policy-change
/ 
 
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/24/the-ways-hispanics-describe
-their-identity-vary-across-immigrant-generations/
 
The League's one-stop-shop for all election information, VOTE411.org, is
providing information about candidates and ballot issues, but we need
everyone to help counter the confusion caused by the pandemic and
intentional misinformation.
 
NM is fortunate in having election officials we can trust. We do not have
discriminatory voting laws, and we aren't seeing last-minute changes to
elections that are occurring in many states. We can reach out to young
voters, women, and people of color who are being disproportionately affected
by the misinformation and mud-slinging.
 
Sadly, the challenges many states are experiencing in 2020 are the result of
the gutting of the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voter
suppression is just as dangerous as the blatant discrimination that occurred
decades ago with poll taxes and literacy tests. 
 
The efforts to suppress the rights of voters are going to be felt long after
Election Day.  Redistricting decisions based on the results of this election
and the 2020 Census will also be affected and felt for decades to come. 
 
The next Congress must fulfill its obligations under the Constitution to
repair the current voter discrimination and suppression by restoring the
protections that were in the original Voting Rights Act. Shamefully, some
local, state, and federal officials are creating barriers to voting rights.
It is time to end their political careers. The right to vote is sacred and
essential to a functioning representative democracy. 
 
Thank you for getting out the correct information and helping voters find
their way. 
 
Meredith Machen
League of Women Voters of New Mexico

 <tel:505-577-6337> 505-577-6337 c
 <mailto:projects at lwvnm.org> projects at lwvnm.org
 <mailto:meredith.machen at gmail.com> meredith.machen at gmail.com
 
Empowering Voters - Defending Democracy
 
 
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