Help build a country that works for mothers
Moms made affordability the issue of this election. Here’s what we won, why it matters, and what comes next.
I’ve spent the last few months on the road for our American Motherhood Tour, sitting down with moms of every faith, background, and political stripe. From living rooms to university auditoriums, I kept hearing the same thing: we’re done drowning in a country that wasn’t built for us.
This past Tuesday, moms did something about it. They organized in group chats and on the sidelines of soccer practice, and then they showed up at the polls. One mom in Topeka, Kansas, even went into labor at her polling place. Now that’s commitment.
This was the affordability election, and moms were paying attention.
A few weeks ago, I asked you to look further down your ballot, at the measures that shape life for moms, from what we pay for childcare to the rights we have over our own bodies.
Here’s how they did. (Votes are still being counted in some places, especially out West, so a few of these could still shift.)
Moms Are Voting to Fix Childcare Themselves
Childcare in America is a broken market. It costs more than college tuition in the majority of states, and teachers earn so little that many can’t afford to stay in the profession. Congress hasn’t fixed it. So some communities have stopped waiting and asked voters to chip in, through a small local tax dedicated to making care more affordable and paying early educators what they deserve.
This year, three communities put that question on the ballot. All three are ahead.
In Marin County, California, licensed childcare averaged $2,315 a month in 2024. Voters there were backing Measure P, which would raise about $12.5 million a year to bring costs down and help keep teachers in classrooms.
In Boulder County, Colorado, a year of full-time infant care costs about $23,000. If you’ve ever tried to find a spot for a baby, you know the price is only half the battle. Issue 1A, which would lower costs and open more spots for infants and toddlers, is leading in early results.
And in San Diego County, Measure B, a sales tax that would fund childcare along with healthcare and food assistance, is still too close to call. But the “yes” side’s lead has been growing as more ballots come in. Fingers crossed.
So why should you care if you don’t live in any of those places? Because this is how change spreads in America. When one county proves it can fund childcare, the next county gets a blueprint.
California voters seem to get that. They appear to be rejecting Proposition 43, which would have made it much harder for communities to pass measures like these in the future.
Up in Washington State, voters seemed to have turned down Initiative 645, an effort to repeal a new tax on income over $1 million. That money is slated for early learning, childcare, and free school meals. Keeping it means the state can keep that promise to families, as long as the tax survives a pending court challenge.
Reproductive Rights: Three Wins and a Loss
Since Roe fell, voters in 17 states have weighed in on abortion directly. And time and again, in red states and blue states, they’ve chosen to protect reproductive freedom. This week, abortion rights won in three of the four states where they were on the ballot.
Missouri was the one I was watching most closely. Two years ago, voters there restored abortion rights. This year, they were asked to take them back. They said no.
Virginia and Nevada both wrote abortion protections into their state constitutions. And in Vermont, nearly 80% of voters approved an amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law, including on the basis of sex. Forty years ago, Vermonters narrowly rejected an Equal Rights Amendment.
But in Idaho, voters turned down a measure that would have restored access, so the state’s ban stays in place. For moms in Idaho, that means decisions about their own healthcare are still being made for them. The state is a reminder that there are still people working hard to take healthcare and rights away from women. The fight is far from over, and we cannot exhale.
My Message to Everyone Who Won
Here’s what I need every newly elected leader to hear: winning was the easy part. Now you have to deliver.
You can’t talk about the cost of living without talking about childcare, and candidates in both parties know it. Right before the election, 76% of voters said the cost of care for families with young kids is a crisis or a major problem. That number is a demand for action.
The best leaders don’t ease into the job. They show up on day one with a list and start checking things off before the moving boxes are unpacked. So here’s ours: make affordable childcare the priority it needs to be, and pass paid leave so no parent ever has to choose between a newborn and a paycheck.
A campaign promise is not a policy. Popular issues don’t pass themselves. They pass when lawmakers feel the heat.
The clock starts now. Not more task forces or talking points. Get childcare and paid leave across the finish line before the next presidential campaign kicks off.
Because when that campaign starts, voters will want receipts. Show up with results, or moms will show you the door.
Here’s Where You Come In, Moms
Lawmakers feel the heat when they hear from us early and often. So find out who will represent you in January, and tell them childcare and paid leave are at the top of your list.
And keep talking to each other. Making No Country for Mothers taught me that we agree on more than we think. Those conversations won’t happen in the comments section, though. So chat with the mom in the pickup line. Ask her what keeps her up at night, and really listen. Or invite some moms over to watch our motherhood documentary together, and talk about what you can do to get lawmakers to make childcare a priority.
Moms carried the affordability message all the way to the ballot box. Now we carry it into every statehouse and into Congress, and we don’t stop until the bills are signed.
There’s Still Time to Join Me at NYU for Motherhood Lectures
New York friends, tickets are still available for Motherhood Lectures Season 2. On November 17 at 3:30 PM, I’ll be at NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center with our partners at Coterie, filming a live lecture on the hidden history of childcare in America, followed by a Q&A.
Admission is free, but seats are going fast. If you’re in the NYC area, grab your tickets now.
No Country for Mothers: Screenings Happening Near You
Check for a local screening in your city or join a virtual watch party.
- Trenton, NJ, Nov 6, 12 PM — RSVP
- Bellingham, WA, Nov 6, 6 PM at Whatcom Family Village — RSVP
- Fairhope, AL, Nov 7, 5 PM at Fairhope Public Library — RSVP
- Washington, DC, Nov 7, 1 PM at Northeast Neighborhood Library — RSVP
- Cambridge, MA, Nov 7, 3:30 PM at Lowell House — RSVP
- Benicia, CA, Nov 7, 1 PM at Benicia Public Library — RSVP
- Mobile, AL, Nov 7, 3:30 PM at Ben May Main Library — RSVP
- Chattanooga, TN, Nov 8, 2 PM at Rivermont Presbyterian Church — RSVP
- Long Beach, CA, Nov 8, 2:30 PM at Sports Basement Long Beach — RSVP
- Denver, CO, Nov 9, 5 PM at Apollo Hall — RSVP
- Farmington, CT, Nov 10, 2 PM at Connecticut State Community College Tunxis — RSVP
- Milton, DE, Nov 10, 5:30 PM at Shell’s Recreation Center — RSVP
- Los Alamos, NM, Nov 10, 6 PM at SALA Los Alamos Event Center — RSVP
- San Francisco, CA, Nov 11, 6 PM at MNTSTUDIO MARINA — RSVP
- Portsmouth, NH, Nov 12, 5 PM at The Getty Bagel — RSVP
- Dover, NH, Nov 12, 6 PM at Dover Little Tree Education — RSVP
- Chicago, IL, Nov 12, 6:30 PM at Chicago Fair Trade Museum & Store — RSVP
- Highland Park, IL, Nov 12, 7 PM at Wayfarer Theaters — RSVP
Want to host your own? Head to our Host Hub for all the info you need to set up your event.
Thank You to Our Screening Hosts
A big thank you to the Motherhood Center and Victoria Eisen from our Moms First community for hosting a screening of No Country for Mothers this past Monday. It’s organizations and hosts like these that make it possible for moms to gather in community, so no one has to feel alone in her motherhood journey. And it’s in rooms like these that moms mobilize and figure out how to drive policy change in their own cities and towns.
Want to bring moms together where you live? Host your own screening. Have questions about hosting a screening? Attend our next virtual office hour on December 1 or email us anytime at hello@momsfirst.us.
On Tuesday, moms proved we can move the ballot when we show up together. Now let’s prove we can move the people we just elected, because the families counting on childcare and paid leave can’t afford for us to stop at the polls.
Sleeves rolled up,
