With the presidential election on the horizon, many are starting to think about who they are going to vote for. Given the current state of nation, this election matters more than ever before. As both political parties begin their campaigns, there is one vote that they may want to start focusing on- the single mom vote.
A majority of single parent households are headed by a female, and it’s no surprise that single parents have different needs than married parents
Single moms, in particular, face challenges when it comes to finances, their career, and expenses like childcare, healthcare, and groceries. While history has proven that more single moms vote Democrat, there are still many that vote Republican or Independent.
The Republican party has long run on the platform of “family values”, with the family being referred to as a unit that includes two parents and their children. This can leave single moms feeling alienated from the Republican Party, making them lean towards the more liberal views of the Democratic Party. To reach the single moms, Republicans will need to address the issues that matter most to them, including more affordable childcare, equal pay for women in the workforce, access to quality healthcare at a fair price, ensuring our children are treated equally- regardless of race or gender, and more.
The single mom vote matters in every election, but never more so than it does right now.
So many important issues will be impacted by this election- from handling the pandemic to healing the nation’s racial divide. It’s scary to be raising children in the world we live in today, but it’s even scarier for parents without a partner to lean on. We want the best for our children, and the weight of giving them the best can sometimes feel very heavy if you have no one to share the burden with.
Single mothers want elected officials to hear their voices and stand up for them. They already feel so alone in many aspects of life, the last thing they want is to worry that their elected officials don’t have their best interests at heart. That’s why single moms are playing close attention to the values each candidate holds dear. Single moms are fed up with the current state of the nation, like so many other demographics, and they want to make sure their voices are heard loud and clear in this election.
Local elections matter just as much as the presidential election.
There’s only one single mother in Congress. Katie Porter is a Democrat representing the 45th district in California. She’s also a single mother of three who knows all too well the day-to-day challenges that single mothers face.
Single mothers, and women in general, need a larger representation in the House of Representatives and Senate so that the issues they care about most are addressed. The only
way to ensure that this happens is for single mothers and women to get out and vote for the people they believe will represent their best interests.
A large percentage of eligible female voters don’t vote because it’s challenging to get to the polls with young children.
Waiting in a long line at the polls with children in tow sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Of course not, that’s why such a large percentage of single mothers don’t end up voting. They don’t want to stand in a long line themselves, let alone with their impatient children.
We need to make it easier for single mothers to get to the polls. We need to express the importance of single mothers getting to the polls. This election matters. Their vote matters. We can’t allow someone’s marital status dictate whether or not they vote in an election that has so much riding on it.