Summary:
In 2012, Amendment 6 was a deceptive, anti-choice measure on the Florida ballot that would have stopped public funds from being used for any abortion. Grassroots organizers worked hard to educate voters about this deeply flawed amendment that would have altered the state constitution. Just prior to the kick-off of early voting, Silver Muse Productions organized a series of community conversations hosted by Gloria Steinem as part of the “No on 6” campaign. We also planned to visit key congressional districts to talk about the specific ways that crucial issues—from the economy and jobs to healthcare and women’s reproductive rights—affect our everyday lives.
Challenges:
Florida is always an important place to discuss issues leading up to an election. She first went to Florida in 1972 as a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, and she was in Palm Beach County the morning after the Gore versus Bush presidential election. Once we decided that returning to Florida was the right choice in 2012, the challenge came in determining exactly where to go because there was so much good work happening on the ground!
Strategy:
We decided that the best use of the week on-the-ground would be to target a cross section of locations—bigger cities like Orlando and Miami, and smaller areas like Stuart and Boca Raton, at events favored by grassroots organizers. We planned nine evens in seven days in seven counties, with events ranging from a Mexican bingo night hosted by Mi Lola in Miami to a public conversation at the Lyric Theater in Stuart, to morning coffee at a bagel shop in Port St. Lucie. One particular race we were watching was the 18th congressional district race where Democrat Patrick Murphy was challenging Republican incumbent Allen West. Murphy said that he was so taken aback by some of the things West was saying in Congress that he felt compelled to run against him.
Results:
Voters successfully defeated Amendment 6, and Patrick Murphy defeated Allen West. Groups organizing on the ground responsible for these wins included Pro-Choice Coalition of Broward County, Orlando Planned Parenthood, UCF student chapter NOW, League of Women Voters of Orange, Safespace, and Mi Lola, among many others. On the last night of the presidential debates, we also arranged for Gloria to appear live on MSNBC in Boca Raton, Florida.