Women Vote! (also known as Women Vote Project) is a political committee that supports left-wing and Democratic Party candidates for public office.

Background

The Women Vote! program was founded in 1995 and is affiliated with EMILY’s List, an organization focused on electing pro-abortion Democratic women. The program uses polling and survey reports conducted specifically for EMILY’s List to mobilize and target female voters. ¹ In 2016, Women Vote! reached voters in 36 races with more than eight million mail pieces, 28 television advertisements, and 200 million online impressions.²

Funding

Women Vote! raised $40,363,527 during the 2017-2018 period. Merrill Lynch, the investment management company, donated $5,402,627, the highest amount received from any donor. ³ CHC Bold, a PAC focused on electing minority groups into office⁴, donated $559,000. Notable donor groups for Women Vote! include Patriot Majority USA, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, America Votes Action Fund, American Women, and NARAL Pro-Choice America. ⁵

Karla Jurvetson, a physician and political activist from Silicon Valley, California, gave Women Vote! $5,402,259. ⁶ Jurveston also has experience serving on the board for a variety of organizations including EMILY’s List, Stanford PACS, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and the Nueva School. ⁷ Other major contributions come from individuals including Donald Sussman, Michael Bloomberg, Irwin Jacobs, George Soros, and Marilyn Simons, co-founder of the Simons Foundation. ⁸

In 2018, Women Vote! had total independent expenditures of $28,022,490. The PAC spent $17,964,605 opposing Republican candidates in the general election and $9,416,687 supporting Democratic candidates. ⁹

Leadership

The current treasurer of Women Vote! is Denelle Robinson. ¹⁰ Robinson has worked for EMILY’s List, affiliate of Women Vote!, since 2015, currently holding the position of chief administrative officer. She has past work experience in the human resources department with various organizations including the Center for American Progress and the United Nations Foundation. ¹¹

1. O’Connor, Karen. “Gender and Women’s Leadership: A Reference Handbook.” SAGE Publications. 2010. p. 229. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=-3J_3pDNZlkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=%22emily’s%20list%22&f=false
2. “WOMEN VOTE!” WOMEN VOTE! Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.emilyslist.org/pages/entry/women-vote.
3. “WOMEN VOTE! – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00473918/?cycle=2018&tab=raising.
4. Bold PAC – Take Bold Action. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://boldpac.com/.
5. “WOMEN VOTE! – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00473918/?cycle=2018&tab=raising.
6. “WOMEN VOTE! – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00473918/?cycle=2018&tab=raising.
7. “Karla Jurvetson.” Stanford PACS. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://pacscenter.stanford.edu/person/karla-jurvetson/.
8. “WOMEN VOTE! – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00473918/?cycle=2018&tab=raising.
9. “Women Vote! Outside Spending.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2018&cmte=C00473918.
10. “WOMEN VOTE! – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00473918/?tab=about-committee.
11. “Denelle Robinson.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/denelle/