Wow.
Only a few days to go in an election that has torn the scabs off the wound that is our electoral system. Regardless of the results up and down the ballot on Tuesday the Pandora's Box of electoral dysfunction is now wide open and the moment is ours to fix systems - be they cultural, political, professional, or electoral - that disadvantage women candidates.
The complexity of the problem must inform our collective work - there is no one reason that the United States ranks behind 95 nations in the representation of women. Nor is there one solution.
The joy in accepting this reality is that we have an imperative to work together - a categorical one if you will (my father was a philosopher) - that can ground our enthusiasm for forging a collaborative, measurable, strategic, and bold campaign for parity. We simply can't succeed if we don't embrace this imperative.
- Susan Page wrote in USA Today this week - How Women Have Defined the 2016 Elections.
- Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez reported on Refinery29 about 35 Women Running for Office You Should Know About
- Cindy Nava writes a thoughtful blog on the election on Young People For.
- Emily Tate writes in Huffington Post on new players on the ballot next week: These Candidates are Challenging the Status Quo in Their States This Election.
- German Lopez writes on Vox In US History - There Have Been 1,917 Male Senators - and Just 46 Female Senators
- Governing Magazine writes about races for lieutenant governor
The Center for American Women and Politics has several terrific Fact Sheets for tracking what to look for and how to understand the results on Tuesday:
- Women candidates for the U.S Senate
- Women candidates for the U.S. House
- Women candidates for state legislative seats
If you are following results in California Close the Gap CA will be tracking their candidates - sign up to get updates on election night.
Our fabulous allies at Open Secrets/Center for Responsive Politics issued the latest tally on election spending which is incredible - in an ordinary election season this would be the lead story.P.S. Representation2020 released its report on the State of Women's Representation on the Eve of the Election: https://fairvote.box.com/v/GPI-2016 check to see how your state ranks and share on social media if you feel so led.
