Over the past year, I've found the polling and commentary provided by Women's Voices, Women Vote invaluable. The group focuses on mobilizing the votes of unmarried women of all ages, who are one of the most progressive demographics in America, yet who are less likely to go to the polls than married women. Single women make up 25 percent of eligible voters, but in 2004, about 20 million of them did not vote -- a group large enough to have swung the election from Over the past year, I've found the polling and commentary provided by Women's Voices, Women Vote invaluable. The group focuses on mobilizing the votes of unmarried women of all ages, who are one of the most progressive demographics in America, yet who are less likely to go to the polls than married women. Single women make up 25 percent of eligible voters, but in 2004, about 20 million of them did not vote -- a group large enough to have swung the election from George W. Bush to John Kerry. The group also has a track record of working to increase the participation of voters of color. Any Democrat would benefit from greater turnout of the voters targeted by Women's Voices, Women Vote.
So it was upsetting and confusing to learn yesterday that WVWV is responsible for illegal robocalls and misleading mailers in 24 states across the country, including North Carolina, which votes next Tuesday. The calls do not name WVWV as the sponsoring organization, and feature a male voice identifying himself as "Lamont Williams" -- a name that many commentators have called overtly African American. The caller says a "voter registration packet" will be coming in the mail. When the package arrives, it does contain registration forms, but it often comes after the registration deadline has already passed -- as it did in North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Some registered voters may have been led to believe by the calls and mailings that they were not registered. If they register again past the deadline, they may be ineligible when they arrive at the polls.
Is this a dirty trick orchestrated by Hillary Clinton supporters to disenfranchise Obama voters? WVWV's director, Page Gardner, has donated to Clinton's PAC and worked for Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Previous members of the organization's board are now working for Hillary's campaign, including current campaign manager Maggie Smith. But as OpenLeft points out, there are also Obama supporters on the board. The organization maintains that the calls and mailings were honest mistakes, and it is trying to prevent the rest of the registration packages from being delivered in North Carolina.
There are serious concerns here, and many unanswered questions. A group of WVWV's stature should have had their robocalls vetted by an attorney. And they certainly should have scheduled their mailings to work seamlessly with voter registration deadlines in individual states, and avoided the appearance of racial stereotyping. WVWV is guilty of gross incompetence here. But it's implausible to me that a multi-issue organization founded in 2004 would defy their non-partisan tax status to play a sloppy, underhanded trick meant to benefit one Democrat over another. WVWV has done good work not only on voting, but also on closing the pay gap, amplifying the voices of women bloggers, and highlighting how women are disproportionately affected by predatory lending. I doubt all that was simply a beard for a stealth pro-Hillary operation, so I am withholding further judgment -- at least for now.
--Dana Goldstein
Update: Something else to consider here: Since voter registration actually increases after deadlines pass, the group may have hoped with its mailings, at least in part, to target voters for the general election, not the primary. That would make sense given WVWV's goal of electing progressive candidates. Doesn't make it okay, of course, that the mailings confused people about the primaries.
Update 2: WVWV board member and Obama supporter William McNary writes on Huffington Post, "I can say with great conviction, there was no effort to suppress or confuse African American voters, or any other voters in the state of North Carolina by Women's Voices, Women Vote."
