Letter from an Editor | August 29, 2020

Dear John,
The Republican National Convention came to a close Thursday night and made one thing perfectly clear: this is truly the most important election of our lifetimes.

The RNC closed with a series of speeches from the lawn of the White House. Never before has what is supposed to be “The People’s House” been used as such an overt political prop. It was also a blatantly illegal choice, violating the Hatch Act (a federal law)—and just one more example in a long list of Donald Trump’s corruption.

And on the eve of Women’s Equality Day, the Convention featured a speech by anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson, who has recently advocated for a "head-of-household" voting system and said that it would be “smart” for a police officer to racially profile her Black adopted son. Johnson’s over-the-top speech featured graphic and deceptive tirades against abortion—the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that Trump has made mainstream over the last few years. She was far from the only speaker to spread such hateful misinformation about reproductive healthcare.

But, as Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund, wrote in an article for Ms. this week, the GOP’s anti-abortion rhetoric is nothing new. “In reality, nearly 40 years of GOP opposition to abortion and the party’s failure to respect the importance of making fundamental decisions about our reproductive lives has led us to this point.”

What this week has once again confirmed: now is the time to get involved. Register to vote or check your voter registration to make sure you’ve listed your current address. Urge others to register. Request a mail-in ballot now, and plan to return your ballot in person to a designated ballot drop box or on Election Day. With mail delivery disrupted and delayed because of changes to the USPS system by the Trump administration, don’t depend on the mail to submit your ballot. And make a back-up plan to vote in person during early voting or on Election Day if your mail ballot doesn’t reach you in time. Become an Election Day poll worker (almost all states pay poll workers). Join a voter protection program. Today is the day to make your voice heard—we have 65 days to go until Election Day.

For equality,
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor

P.S. If you become a Ms . Member today [[link removed]] , our expanded Fall issue will reach you in time for the elections. Ms . election coverage will feature crucial information and analysis of what’s at stake for women and the country. Our team at Ms . continues to report and truth-tell – but we can’t do it without your support.

This Week's Must-Reads from Ms .

Dismantling the RNC’s Legacy of Hostility To Abortion Access [[link removed]]

New Episode of On The Issues with Michele Goodwin— 19th Amendment: Suffrage and the Power of Women’s Votes [[link removed]]

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The Difference Women Voters Make [[link removed]]

Feminist Voters Could Decide the November Elections [[link removed]]

57 Years Later, Thousands Protest Racial Injustice at 2020 March on Washington [[link removed]]

Thousands of protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday to call for criminal justice reform and racial equality, while honoring the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address from the same location.

Suffragists Knew Voting Was Only the First Step to Equality. The ERA Could Finish the Job. [[link removed]]

Wednesday was Women's Equality Day, commemorating 100 years since the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution. But suffragists were not a single-issue group; many took part in the the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment—which continues to this day.

Women’s Representation: “The Rise of Women Does Not Mean the Fall of Men” [[link removed]]

Our friend, Cynthia Terrell, founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, is back with another installment of her weekly column, rounding up some of her favorite stories about women’s representation in the news this week.



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