Women Vote is the independent expenditure arm of EMILYs List, the country’s largest organization dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to public office. EMILYs List itself, founded in 1985, predates the super PAC era by decades; Women Vote was created in 1995 to handle independent advertising and voter mobilization activities and operates under the rules now governing super PACs.
Women Vote specializes in reaching and mobilizing women voters, with extensive research and message-testing infrastructure built up over three decades. During the 2024 cycle, the group ran a multi-million-dollar program supporting Kamala Harris’s campaign, with particular focus on women under 40 in battleground states. It also partnered with Future Forward on joint ad campaigns centered on abortion rights.
EMILYs List as a whole reports having helped elect 175 women to the U.S. House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office since its founding. Women Vote has been criticized at times for spending in primaries where its preferred candidate’s pro-choice credentials are similar to the opponent’s; supporters argue the group’s mandate is broader than abortion politics alone.
Website: emilyslist.org/women-vote-emilys-list · OpenSecrets profile: Searchable as “Women Vote” at OpenSecrets