Supermajority Turns One!

Women are disproportionately affected by decisions made at every level of our government — that’s one of the reasons Alicia Garza, Ai-jen Poo, Deirdre Schifeling, Jessica Morales Rocketto, Katherine Grainger, and I teamed up to launch Supermajority one year ago today. Little did we know then just how stark that reality would be on our one year anniversary, as our country and the world grapple with a public health crisis unlike anything we’ve seen before. The federal government and many state political leaders have turned their backs on women and families struggling through this pandemic, so Supermajority has doubled down on our commitment to work with women of all ages, races, and backgrounds to change the direction of this country, for good.

The stakes are high. Women are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, making up more than three-quarters of health care workers and nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers. Women have been laid off from their jobs at restaurants, hotels, and cleaning services, leaving them with families to support, food to buy, and bills to pay. Countless women are also now home without school or child care options and are scrambling to take care of their families, do their jobs, and serve as a teacher for their children. Meanwhile, at least eight states have used the coronavirus pandemic to justify efforts to make it harder to access safe and legal abortion. And we’ve seen one reminder after another that we urgently need to develop a safe and fair process for elections.

And as is always the case, women everywhere are stepping up to lead in these uncertain times — from the doctors, nurses, researchers, mayors, governors, heads of state, public health experts, and journalists who are front and center in this crisis, to those more quietly working in their own communities — developing mutual aid networks, sewing masks, caring for the sick and elderly in their homes, distributing food, and so much more. When it comes to fueling change, we’ve always done the work: women are the majority of grassroots organizers, volunteers, and voters. But despite all of this, we are still written off as an “interest group,” and the issues that affect our lives are too often the last priority of candidates, elected officials, and the media.

At Supermajority, this pandemic only underscores the need to protect women’s ability to vote, prioritize health care access, center those on the front lines of this crisis, and elect new leadership at every level in November. Now more than ever, we need women to come together and use our power as a supermajority, and we’ve spent the last year working towards building that.

Some highlights from our first year:

• We hit the road for a bus tour spanning fourteen states, meeting up with thousands of women, and bringing five presidential candidates out to hear directly from our members. 
• We launched Supermajority News, an editorial platform reporting on the intersection of gender, politics, and activism, and have published nearly 200 original articles — written by women, for women — to date.
• Supermajority Education Fund created the Majority Rules with input from 75,000 women in fifty states.
• Supermajority volunteers sent 129,000 texts to women voters in key states (in the midst of pandemic!).
• We connected with over one million women — online and off — to engage in conversations about the issues women care about, the work they are already doing, and how Supermajority can support them in accessing the information, tools, and resources they need to take the next step in their activism, whether they are just starting out or have been at this for years.

There’s never been a better time to put our values into action than with what comes next. Supermajority is committed to executing the largest woman-to-woman voter engagement program in the country over the next six months (and we’ve already gotten started!). 

Here’s how we’ll get it done:

• Build a new online home for women’s activism: In just a few weeks, we’ll launch a digital platform where Supermajority members can log in to find meaningful actions, track their impact, and keep up to date on the latest opportunities to get involved. In the coming months, we’ll power our woman-to-woman voter engagement program from here, so sign up now to be among the first to get access.
  
• Turn out a record number of women voters: We’ll kick off GOTV with a Day of Action on September 12 (mark your calendar!), and take part in 52 days of working together (from a distance if necessary!) from then until Election Day to mobilize a historic turnout.
  
• Write an agenda that puts women front and center: This summer, we’ll get input from (at least!) 100,000 women from all backgrounds to write an agenda reflects not just the usual talking points, but the real experiences and needs of women in America. Then, once we win in November — up and down the ballot — we’ll turn our focus to holding every candidate we help get elected accountable to the values we share — in 2021 and beyond. 

Some of you have been with us since Day One, and some of you found us just this week. To all of you, we are so incredibly grateful that you’re here. With your help, we can turn out women to vote in never-before-seen numbers, and shape the future of this country for generations to come.

The next step? Ask five friends to join Supermajority today in honor of our one year anniversary, and in honor of all the women on the front lines. This fight will take all of us. Just share this link in your group text, on social media, or in an email: https://supermajority.com/