Women, particularly in recent years, have dramatically affected the
political elective process. There are several reasons for this. Most
significantly, women comprise a bit more than half of the population
and are considerably more likely to vote than men. More than 8
million more women than men voted in the 2000 election. Married women
are especially likely voters, with 68% voting in the 2000 election. As
a result, both political parties have sought to attract women voters.
Women also tend to make their decision about who to vote for shortly
before the election. A poll by Time magazine shortly before October
11, 2004 found that 61% of undecided voters were women. Because they
make decisions late in the election season, women are most likely to
be influenced by the campaigns, which therefore make every effort to
target them.
Although women as a whole are too diverse to be courted as a single
bloc, a sufficient number of women have tended to coalesce around a
set of issues during the last 10 years to give them political power.
In the 1990s, "Soccer Moms" were targeted by both parties. For
example, President Clinton endorsed school uniforms because his
adviser, Dick Morris, believed that position would appeal to Soccer
Moms. Soccer Moms came out strongly for President Clinton in 1996.
After September 11, "Security Moms" became an important bloc.
President Bush reiterated his credentials for carrying on the War on
Terror and criticized his opponent precisely to attract this group.
Security Moms strongly supported President Bush in 2002.
With the electorate being nearly evenly split, with women favoring
Kerry over Bush 46% to 45% and men preferring Bush over Kerry 47% to
46% in a poll taken two weeks before the election, attracting even a
small majority of swing voters was essential to achieving victory.
Each party effectively has about 46% of the electorate as their base,
with Democrats generally being favored by women and Republicans being
generally favored by men. However, older white women and downscale
women, in particular, are swing voters that can be persuaded to vote
with either party. So, in order to get to 50%, each party must focus
on these groups in order to win.
Because of their large numbers, tendency to vote, and willingness to
consider both parties before voting, women play a significant role in
the political elective process. Especially with the electorate being
so evenly divided, even relatively small groups of women who are swing
voters merit the attention of both parties. As a result, it appears
likely that policies designed to attract the support of blocs of women
voters will become even more prevalent.
Sincerely,
Wonko
Sources:
"Desperately Seeking Single Women Voters" By Alexandra Starr,
BusinessWeek (June 21, 2004)
http://www.businessweek.com/@@fCW3koYQtMlhDg0A/magazine/content/04_25/b3888108.htm
"How The Dems Could Win" By Richard S. Dunham, BusinessWeek (February
23, 2004) http://www.businessweek.com/@@uoyRmIYQr8lhDg0A/magazine/content/04_08/b3871030_mz005.htm
"Why It's So Close" By Michael Duffy, Time (October 25, 2004)
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1101041025-725141,00.html
"What Do Women Want?" By Nancy Gibbs, Time (October 11, 2004)
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/from_related_delivery/0,10987,1101041011-708961-00,00.html |
