John,

Because of your proven interest and support of feminist issues, I wanted to share my early take on the results so far tonight.

It’s now approaching midnight here at Feminist Majority Headquarters and clearly it will be some time before the final and official results of the 2022 midterms are known.

What is clear at this point is that women and youth voters have succeeded in blocking the “red wave” that was so boldly and loudly predicted by the doomsday pundits and pollsters.

But it is still too early to determine majority control of the House and Senate.

What is obvious right now — there will be a sustained fight to protect women’s rights, civil rights, abortion rights, finally certifying the ERA, and our democracy itself. So, I am asking you to start a monthly gift to Feminist Majority right now.

Regardless of how this election finally turns out one frightening fact is perfectly clear: through partisan gerrymandering, voter suppression and intimidation, and a system in the Senate that favors states with small populations, the right-wing Republicans have succeeded in locking in minority rule to the point where the election results don’t reflect the votes of the majority.

First, the good news:

Just like our victory in Kansas back in August, we won in Vermont, and it looks like we’re winning in Kentucky, Montana, and Michigan. And when returns are in, California will be added to that string of victories. We cannot understate these victories. They are massive. Real lives of millions of people will be impacted positively.

The Painful Reality of Minority Rule

It will be hours — perhaps days or weeks — before the outcome of Congressional, Senatorial and State legislative races is known. However tonight, in places where most of the votes have already been counted it’s clear Republican gerrymandering and suppression of the vote is playing a very significant role. This is particularly true in many of the very close House races.

And it does not stop there.

In the battle for control of state legislatures in state after state the combination of Republican-controlled redistricting and Republican-designed voter suppression are working to assure second class status and loss of personal and economic freedom for women.

Invest with a Monthly Gift

Yet as we await final results in candidate races, the pundits will start casting blame. They’ll find dozens and dozens of ways to point the fingers. Some have already been touting the falsehood that abortion really wasn’t all that important. And they’ll roll all this distortion into their catch-all excuse: “poor messaging.”

Don’t be fooled that the messaging was the problem. Right up to election day in the battleground states, likely women voters ranked abortion and women’s right as one of the top issues driving their voting decisions. And among young women, abortion and women’s rights were the top issues as they headed to the ballot box.

We must not forget, feminists are the majority — a very strong majority. But we in the majority live under a Constitution where the U.S. Senate is granted disproportionate power to states with small populations and in the House, permits partisan gerrymandering.

Yes, we can win when the majority rules. But often we must deal with the painful reality of minority rule in the Congress.

Students a Special Target for Voter Suppression

Here at the Feminist Majority our Student Mobilization Teams at colleges and universities in battle ground states have experienced the full wrath of right-wing voter suppression. In campus after campus every tactic in the book to suppress the student vote has been used — cutting back or even eliminating polling places on campus…moving polling places far from campuses making it difficult for students to reach…challenging student voter’s qualifications…ramping up the flood of disinformation on polling places on social media.

We’ll have a full report on our Student Mobilization efforts later this month. Today I ask you to start a monthly gift to the Feminist Majority right away. Your gift of $15/month, $25/month, whatever you can afford will fund this fight.

We Must Stay Focused on the Prize

I’m reporting all this not to discourage you. Just the opposite. In all the long history of the fight for women’s rights and equality we’ve always eventually prevailed against all attempts to turn back the clock.

It’s our power of persistence — the willingness to never give up, to fight until full equality is ours — that will ultimately bring victory. And I know that starting tonight you will continue to fight on. Your monthly gift will make this fight possible.

Regardless of the outcome of specific races or control of Congress is concerned, we must prepare right now to carry the battle forward. We still have the Equal Rights Amendment to enshrine in the U.S. Constitution. We still must take whatever legal and organizing steps necessary to secure reproductive rights and justice and other personal freedoms, as well as continue the battle to win childcare, parental leave, equal pay and protection of Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security as well as dealing with climate change and gun reform.

Until full equality is enshrined in the Constitution with the Equal Rights Amendment and our full rights are ensured we must not tire nor even think of quitting.

Tomorrow and in the days ahead I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile, thank you for all you’ve done to carry our movement forward and all you will do in the days, months, and years to come.

Fight on, For Equality,
– Ellie

Eleanor Smeal President