Current candidates should pay close attention to what women want from the next U.S. president.
According to an AARP poll, 95 percent of women aged 50 and older plan to vote during the presidential election this November, predicting that women will be a decisive voice.
“The survey shows that these voters are engaged, motivated, and plan to closely scrutinize the positions of those seeking their support,” a report posted to AARP.org says.
The report also says that “this obvious interest in the 2020 election tracks with other recent polls and the analyses of election experts who are predicting that the 2020 turnout will be one of the highest in American history.”
Although the poll found that the majority of these voters are undecided when it comes to the candidates, the economy and healthcare, including pharmaceutical companies and drug prices, are among the issues they find most important.
In Louisiana (where the number of female registered voters is slightly higher compared to the U.S. as a whole) older voters could echo the nation’s concerns when November comes around — healthcare in particular. In our May/June 2019 feature “Running for Office: How Boomers are Changing Politics,” a local resident laments that “[Louisiana] has some of the highest healthcare costs of any state in the U.S.”
The feature also quotes a spokesperson from Elect Louisiana 60+, a bi-partisan organization that supports the voting interests of older residents. “There are one million men and women in the state over the age of 60. By 2020, this number will grow by nearly 250,000. Their voices need to be heard,” she says.
The Louisiana presidential primary is April 4. For more information on voting in Louisiana, visit sos.la.gov.
