Here's a hard truth: In the last midterm elections, in 2010, a majority of women who could vote *didn't *vote. That's right. Only 46.2 percent of women who were eligible to cast their ballots actually did so. Lena Dunham, whom we all know as the creator, writer, and star of HBO's Girls, wants to break that cycle—and help bring millennial women to the polls this year.
Over the past few weeks, Dunham has been traveling around the country to celebrate the launch of her new book, Not That Kind of Girl, and along the way, she's been asking women to share the issues that matter most to them in this year's elections. The result? A brand-new video in created in support of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund's Women Are Watching campaign, which Dunham is debuting exclusively on Glamour.com today. "I love how Glamour is clear and bold about their politics," says Dunham. "The Glamour Women of the Year Awards have been extremely inspiring for me a few years in a row. I love how they are constantly redefining what a women's magazine can be." Watch the video below:
Learn more about Planned Parenthood Action Fund's Women Are Watching campaign.
"I used to think that all that mattered was that you, you know, vote for Obama, then go back to eating Cheetos and reading gossip magazines," Dunham jokes in the video. "But the fact is, the midterm elections matter."
For Dunham specifically, the elections matter because of all the recent attacks on reproductive rights. "When you show up to the polls," she says in the video, "you empower yourself, you empower the women you love, and you take control of your own body back from politicians who don't want the best for you."
But reproductive rights aren't the only thing women have at stake in this year's elections. Congressional representatives, governors, and state officials influence issues affecting women's lives every single day—student-loan debt (that's only exasperated by the looming pay gap), workplace discrimination, marriage inequality, heartbreaking instances of police brutality. It's important that we're electing representatives who will legislate in our best interests. To do so, we've got to turn out to vote on Tuesday, November 4.
"We hear a lot about how apathetic our millennial youth are, but that just hasn't been my experience," Dunham tells Glamour. "My friends—as well as the young women I met on my book tour, who are friends now too—have so much joy, anger, hunger for change.... I want us to show up at the polls in record numbers, to show that we won't stand for attacks on women and their rights, that we recognize our power to shape the future."
Well, you heard the woman. Set your phone alert for Tuesday, November 4, and, tell us what issue is most important to you in the poll below:
What Issue Is Most Important for You in the Midterm Elections?
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The Breakthrough Women of the 2014 Election: Who's Making Headlines in Your State?
