Supermajority Unveils Nationwide Tour to Elevate Women's Issues Ahead of 2020 Election

Five months after unveiling Supermajority, a political movement built around the idea that women make up a majority of American voters and organizers but are underrepresented in government, the national group on Wednesday unveiled a plan for a cross-country tour to mobilize women ahead of the 2020 election.

Led by National Domestic Workers Alliance director Ai-jen Poo, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, Supermajority will make stops in 14 states and Washington, D.C. starting September 15.

Women in cities including Birmingham, Alabama; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Cincinnati, Ohio will be able to engage with presidential candidates taking part in the events in a new way, Supermajority said in a press statement Wednesday.

Instead of candidates including Julian Castro, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Pete Buttigieg addressing audiences about their plans for the country, "women will speak to the candidates about the issues affecting their lives," the group said.

During the tour, which will feature appearances by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Latinx rights advocate Paola Ramos, Supermajority will unveil a policy platform called the "Majority Rules."

The platform was compiled "by listening to tens of thousands of women through in-person discussions, focus groups, online polling, and targeted research" by the Supermajority Education Fund, the group's research arm.

The organization's Women's Poll, answered by 60,000 women so far, asks questions about women's income, financial security, challenges with child care, ability to obtain the medical care they need, and other issues--all of which, women's rights advocates say, must be addressed in order to help people of all genders thrive. Their answers provided the basis for the Majority Rules and will "serve as the rallying cry for millions of women, no matter their background, race, or generation," the group said.

"Women have always been powerful in their own right, but too often, we have been excluded from the political decisions that shape our futures," said Richards in a statement. "This bus tour is an opportunity for our leaders--from the community level to the halls of Congress--to hear directly from women and speak to them about how they will ensure the issues we care about, our Majority Rules, are treated like the national priorities that they are."

While women make up the majority of U.S. voters, Poo added, they are too often treated as a "special interest group" by politicians and the press.

"We are the most powerful force in America," she said. "It's time our leaders acknowledge us, look like us, and represent us. This bus tour will reach women across America who are doing more than resisting; they're taking action to better their lives, their communities, and their country so we can rise together."