A sorority of voters: Young, single women channel their power

By Althea Cawley-Murphree
NEXT guest

PAUL SCHMID / THE SEATTLE TIMES

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

BOSTON, Mass. — Soccer moms are out. Sorority sisters are in.

Political strategists have anointed young, single women the most-wanted voters of 2004.

That made Stephanie Hartford, 21, from Washington state, a hot commodity at last week's Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Four years ago, 15 million young American women between the ages of 18 and 34 failed to vote. Sixteen million single women are not even registered voters.

One in three women voters is undecided, according to EMILY'S List, a political network for pro-choice Democratic women.

Democrats have vowed to fight these negative trends, reaching out to women by building a loose network of organizations and initiatives with the fundamental structure of a college sorority.

Hartford, a Woodinville native starting her senior year at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., is exactly the sort of bright, articulate, intellectually curious young woman the Democrats need. She is a passionate supporter of the party's principles and leadership.

That said, she is unafraid to challenge its strategies — namely, she thinks the party should do more to woo her female peers. This effort needs to be substantive, not symbolic, she said.

If politicians were listening to young women, she said, we would hear more about the cost of college tuition, date rape on college campuses, health topics that don't shy away from birth control coverage, and especially a woman's right to choose.

Hartford was one of 250 young Americans selected to attend the convention by The Washington Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Washington, D.C. The program blends the academic study of political processes with hands-on field work.

The only Washington state student selected for the program, Hartford went to Boston to work with the Washington delegation, Feminist Majority and Planned Parenthood.

It was a personal and professional quest for Hartford, who wants to change the world today and be a U.S. senator tomorrow.

She said she was impressed by what she heard from the podium. She was moved by Jimmy Carter's sincere appeal to American values, awed by the sight of nine women senators, and inspired by Bill Clinton's call to "Send John Kerry!"

Now if only politicians engaged in a substantive debate of issues pertinent to young women, Hartford said she's sure her peers would embrace the Democratic Party and turn out to vote in record numbers.

Since the 1960s, the Democratic Party has prided itself on being the party of young people, harkening back to its rally cry, "When women vote, Democrats win."

Dissatisfaction with the current administration coupled with the bold leadership of candidates in the presidential primary this year have inspired thousands of new activists to join the party.

But Democrats face an ongoing challenge to keep my generation engaged. In Boston, more than 5,000 young activists turned out for an intensive two-day training before the convention. Three-quarters of attendees reported they had never volunteered for a campaign before.

Women are also finding new channels to organize and assert their power. EMILY's List has become one of the most powerful political action committees in the country exclusively supporting pro-choice women candidates.

With 85,000 members, EMILY'S List has helped to elect 56 women to Congress, 11 to the U.S. Senate and seven to governorships.

In Washington state, EMILY'S List is backing Sen. Patty Murray, gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire, and several women below them on the ticket.

Hartford said she is eager to return to Washington and get busy re-electing Murray, her personal hero.

And if Democrats continue to fix their focus on young women, that "sorority system" may well be electing Hartford herself to the U.S. Senate one day in the not-too-distant future.

Althea Cawley-Murphree is an '03 graduate of the UW's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs. She is executive director of the Institute for a Democratic Future.

E-mail: NEXT@seattletimes.com