The California Elected Women’s Association will be on campus to register people to vote and get more people involved in the political process today and Thursday in the Library Quad.

The California Elected Women’s Association – established in 1972 – was formed due to dissatisfaction with the male power structure in the political field, said Laura Niznik, director of Communications and Member Services of the organization.

Niznik added that even when women are elected, they get stuck in an isolated situation, so supporters are needed.

“Women finally recognized that they need supporters, buddies and a communication network,” Niznik said in an e-mail. “In other words, the counterpart to ‘the old boys club.'”

“Many women felt that elected women are more than role models, that they can use their influence and clout to help the aspirations of all women,” Niznik added.

The California Elected Women’s Association is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to leadership training, policy workshops, publications and networking opportunities for women holding, or interested in holding elected and appointed office, Niznik said.

The idea that women cannot be equal to men in politics has been a stigma that the organization, and other groups, such as Democracy Matters, has fought for a long time.

Ash Roughani, a public policy graduate student and a member of Democracy Matters, said women have made many strides in the political field and that women have to break out of the “old boys club” world.

“Things could change very quickly for women in the next few years with (California House Democratic Leader) Nancy Pelosi possibly becoming Speaker of the House and Hillary Clinton gaining serious attention as a potential presidential candidate,” Roughani said via Internet.

“Women still have many gains to be had in the realm of politics. (California Elected Women’s Association) is a great organization working to change this.”

Sacramento State Professor Barbara O’Connor, who is chair of the Educational Technology Committee, also said women need to be more involved in politics.

“We currently have no women in our constitutional office ranks and only one running in November,” O’Connor said in an e-mail. “That is a disgrace, given the population of women in California.”

O’Connor said she thinks it’s great that the organization is coming to Sac State and that its work is essential.

With the November election just a month away, it is even more important that a group such as the California Elected Women’s Association comes to campus and gets more students involved, Niznik said.

Nancy Pelosi, who is the ranking Democrat in the House also stated that a group like the organization is great to have in order to get more people involved.

“The California Congressional Delegation is proud to be made up of far more women Members than any other State Delegation. We owe that to a strong history of local and state efforts to support women in elected and appointed leadership,” Pelosi wrote in an e-mail.

“California, and (California Elected Women’s Association) in particular, lead the way in recognizing that women in every field must and will be equal partners in determining our future.”

There is a major push by groups to get more people involved in the political process.

“In the last gubernatorial election, just 19 percent of young women ages 19-24 voted, which is the lowest percentage of any age group in Sacramento County,” said Rachel Michelin, executive director and CEO of the organization. “It is important to encourage young women to vote now, so they can choose who will make their decisions tomorrow.”

Philip Malan can be reached at [email protected]