A friend suggested to that she check out the League of Women Voters as a way to channel her sudden urge to be more civically engaged after November’s election. But Gauthier had to call her friend back with bad news.
It looks wonderful, she recalled telling her friend, but there’s not a chapter here in Franklin County in central Massachusetts. To which her friend replied: “So, maybe you should start one then.”
Gauthier, a 45-year-old mother of three children, ages 11, 8, and 4, had always modeled herself as being a good citizen through community service, but she’d never been particularly interested in political activity. But, like so many of the voters who were disappointed by the election outcome, Gauthier felt like it was time to “re-prioritize” where she invested her energy.
So on Nov. 14, less than a week removed from the election, Gauthier called the league’s Massachusetts state branch and said she wanted to start a chapter where she lived.
“I never thought I’d take it this direction,” she said, “but I guess I look at my kids and I want them to see that when there are challenges you have to rise up to them and meet them.”
The nearly 100-year-old organization — which began during women’s suffrage to give new female voters a way to organize around their new civic right — has seen a massive resurgence since the election, and even more so since the women’s marches last month. Across the country, the league added thousands to its membership and inspired individuals like Gauthier to start new chapters in towns from Utah to Georgia to Pennsylvania.
It’s a level of interest that national president Chris Carson has never seen in her 33 years with the league. She thinks people are drawn to it because it is nonpartisan — it doesn’t weigh in on party politics, but it does take a stand on issues, usually progressive ones. Its main purpose, though, is to engender the kind of active citizenship that is in sudden demand since the election. It encourages voting and champions civil discourse, putting out voting guides in communities and sponsoring political debates at all levels of government.
“It’s very encouraging, it makes me feel wonderful to know there are that many people who care about this country who want to perhaps change the direction they see now, but want to do it in a positive and constructive way,” Carson said. “So many were horrified by the toxicity of the campaign and are tired of the negativity.”
“I certainly have not seen a surge in interest as we’re seeing in the last three months. It’s exciting,” Gauthier said.
“It’s invigorating to be in a room with engaged and passionate women and it’s a great comfort to know we’re all working together,” Gauthier said. “There’s something really rewarding about that.”
