The AAUW Action Fund’s It’s My Vote: I Will Be Heard voter education and turnout campaign represents an unprecedented investment in making women’s voices heard in the 2012 election. Follow us on Twitter and on Tumblr for the latest updates, and check out our biweekly Campaign Update for news, resources, and ideas.
In a matter of 24 hours, AAUW branches from across the state of Michigan came together to support a voter registration drive during a performance of The Vagina Monologues that was held on the steps of the Michigan Capitol building. We’re proud to report that we registered 104 people from across the state to vote and signed up 34 volunteers for the It’s My Vote: I Will Be Heard campaign.
After a state lawmaker was barred in June from speaking on the House floor because Republicans objected to her saying “vagina” in a debate over anti-choice legislation, Eve Ensler, author of the award-winning play The Vagina Monologues, contacted women legislators from Michigan and asked what she could do to help. Just 72 hours later, Ensler flew to Michigan and put together a performance of the play starring Michigan actresses and legislators.
Michigan actresses and legislators perform on the capitol steps.
The corresponding registration drive was an amazing success and a testament to the tenacity and commitment of AAUW members in Michigan. A special thank-you goes to Ulla Roth, an It’s My Vote coordinator from the AAUW Ann Arbor (MI) Branch who helped coordinate volunteers from Ann Arbor and Lansing in the hours preceding the June event.
On July 18, we again joined forces with several Michigan organizations on the capitol lawn to take a stand on women’s issues. About 500 people gathered at the steps to hear speakers from the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Michigan Nurses Association, among others. Attendees then moved to the House and Senate galleries to watch our legislators, while others met with their representatives and senators to talk about issues affecting women in Michigan.
At the event, led by AAUW Rochester (MI) Branch member and Michigan State Public Policy Chair Barbara Bonsignore, we spoke with several of these organizations about joining the It’s My Vote campaign as coalition members and signed up additional volunteers.
This blog was written by AAUW of Michigan campaign organizer Julie Rowe.
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