Maine women show concern for the upcoming gubernatorial election

ORONO, ME-- More than 90 years have passed since the 19th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution, allowing American women the right to vote. Since then, women’s political involvement has become more prevalent throughout the United States and within the state of Maine.

Sixty years ago, Margaret Chase Smith took the seat of her deceased husband in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Maine became the first state to send a woman to the U.S. Congress. Today, women make up 17 percent of the Congress and 30 percent of the Maine state legislature, however they have never seen the Blaine House.

“We have a long way to go before we have equal representation on the ballot,” said Rep. Emily Cain. Rep. Cain has served three terms in the Maine House for district 19, and she is campaigning for her fourth.

Rep. Cain said that gender has always been an issue within her own political career and it is “absolutely an issue” in this upcoming gubernatorial race.

Gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Libby Mitchell, is the only woman in the United States to serve as both senate president and speaker of the house. Although Mitchell displays substantial political experience, Rep. Cain said that as the only woman in the gubernatorial race, Mitchell’s gender could pose as a threat.

Not only are women on the ballot, but they are in the voting booths as well.  According to a blog post by the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network, the voter turnout for women now equals or exceeds the amount for men, causing women to be a highly targeted group in this year’s gubernatorial race. Organizations such as the Maine Women’s Lobby and the Maine Civil Liberties Union are stressing the importance of the female vote.

Ann Schonberger is the director of the University of Maine women’s studies department. When asked if she was afraid of the possible turnout for the gubernatorial race, she simply replied “yes”. Schonberger stressed the importance of young women researching this election and keeping women’s issues in mind when they look into this year’s gubernatorial candidates. “[Young women] don’t remember when it wasn’t possible to be able to choose whether you’ll have a baby or not,” said Schonberger.

Schonberger said that reproductive rights, sexual and domestic violence prevention and equal pay are just some of the women’s issues that are at stake by this year’s election. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done,” she said.

Rep. Cain also said that the women’s rights movement is far from over. “Maybe the feminist movement has a new face,” said Rep. Cain “but I would say it is even more relevant than before”.

The gubernatorial candidates continue to have varying opinions on women’s issues, and women all over Maine are taking these opinions into consideration.

Carey Nason is a social worker and coordinator of the University of Maine Safe Campus Project. Nason said that she was most concerned about the affects that this election could have on social welfare programs.

Amelia Butman is a fourth-year student at the University of Maine, who said that she is concerned about how the outcome of this election will affect her education.

Kathryn Card is a fourth-year University of Maine student. Card said that marriage equality and reproductive rights are important issues to her.

To learn more about women’s involvement in politics and other women’s issues by visiting the Maine Women’s Lobby, the Maine Civil Liberties Union and A Rising Tide.

To read about how Maine's youth are affected by the upcoming election, visit Amy Becker's report. To learn about what Maine's educators think about the gubernatorial race, visit Bryan Roche's report.