Posted: 10/27/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2004

Program reaches first goal: 5% of the target has voted by mail or at early polling locations

After weeks of identifying infrequent women voters from the state’s voter file, mailing postcards with the theme “Voting. It feels Good”, making thousands of phone calls, and hosting rallies with Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem, the New Mexico Women Vote 2004 program run by NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico announced its final seven day push to get women out to vote. Of the 11,000 identified infrequent women voters, over 650 have already voted, and the group expects many more to vote early this week. “We’ve reached thousands of women who do not have a pattern of voting with our message about how good voting feels,” stated NARAL Pro-Choice NM Executive Director Giovanna Rossi, “but we need more women to vote early and not just wait for election day” Rossi added.

When asked about her reaction to the Voting- It Feels Good message, infrequent target voter, Emily Schriber said “The mail piece caught my eye – most of the political mail looks the same and this one really stood out. I read the front and then flipped it over and started laughing – I’m definitely voting this year.”

“I appreciated getting the call about voting by mail – I don’t always make it to the polls on Election Day and this gave me another chance to be sure my voice is heard” stated another infrequent voter.

The program focuses on Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Dona Ana and Sandoval counties with offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces with a total of 35 phone lines. “The real push is this week – we want women to vote early because we know that on Election Day anything can come up, whether it’s children getting sick or an unexpected meeting at work. Our goal is to provide women with information about multiple voting opportunities,” stated Rossi.

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