Gabby Weiss is an organizer for NARAL Pro-Choice America.
It’s not quite noon on a cold Saturday in Bucks County PA, a suburb just north of Philadelphia, and I’ve already spoken with 5 strangers about their view on women, abortion, and the 2016 election. As an organizer for NARAL Pro-Choice America, I’m very familiar with these types of conversations — but this year, something is different about them from what I’ve seen before.
Cathy is working in her garden as I walk to her driveway. The previous night, news had broken of Donald Trump’s 2005 comments where he bragged about assaulting women, and she mentions them when I ask her about the presidential election, wearily remarking to me that Trump’s comments sound similar to remarks she’s heard from men throughout her life. Observations like hers are not unusual; one NARAL volunteer returned from knocking doors just two weeks before Election Day and shared the story of a woman who has been sexually assaulted multiple times and now faces the reality of an unapologetic misogynist and sexual abuser at the top of the Republican ticket.
I’ve talked to hundreds of people about their votes in the last few months, and the one thing I’ve learned is that for voters this year — especially women — this election is NOT just politics as usual; this time it’s personal.
In Nevada, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, NARAL staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to turn out the vote not only for Hillary Clinton, but for pro-choice champions down the ballot — including those in competitive House and Senate, governor, and state legislative races. Through knocking on tens of thousands of doors and making hundreds of thousands of phone calls, we’ve been on the front lines of the fight to win the election for reproductive freedom.
In Pennsylvania, 60 college-age NARAL volunteers spent their fall break from classes knocking on 5,000 doors and making 7,000 phone calls to thousands of voters for Hillary Clinton and pro-choice Senate candidate Katie McGinty, while in New Hampshire 70 more NARAL volunteers knocked on doors for Clinton and Senate candidate Maggie Hassan.
In Nevada, a dedicated team of canvassers knocks doors every day, talking to NARAL members about the importance of voting for both federal and state level pro-choice candidates; while in Washington, D.C., a dedicated phone bank team spends their nights calling pro-choice voters from California to Florida.
We have talked to women in Pennsylvania who won’t stand for a president who speaks about them in the derogatory way that Donald Trump does. We’ve talked to fathers in New Hampshire who are doing everything they can do make sure that their daughters grow up in a world where autonomy over their bodies and reproductive healthcare is respected by state and national elected officials. We’ve talked to parents in Nevada who want to vote for candidates who don’t just claim they’re “pro-family,” but who actually back that up by advocating for pro-family policies like pregnancy accommodations and paid parental leave for working families.
Across the country, NARAL volunteers have talked to Republicans who are crossing the aisle, and men and women who are registering to vote for the first time in their lives, because this time is different. This time it’s personal.
