How do people strengthen American democracy in this moment of extreme political polarization? Sarah Longwell, a longtime Republican strategist who holds focus groups with undecided women in battleground states, said it should include remembering that voters who are sometimes blamed for political toxicity are “not terrible.”

“They mostly take care of their sick parents and volunteer at the pet shelter and don’t want to be jerks to each other,” she said.

Longwell made the remarks to The 19th’s Amanda Becker during our “Equal Participants in Our Democracy” event on May 15. The programming focused on the crucial role of women and LGBTQ+ people in American political systems — and what’s preventing them from full participation. While experts worry about misinformation and money in politics — where it comes from, who it helps or hurts — they also emphasized what brings Americans together, whether it be working at polling places or commiserating over parenting woes.

Women voters in key battleground states have already indicated that they’re both confident and worried about the upcoming election, and that’s reflected in general polling that shows declining satisfaction in how democracy is working. Longwell, who is also a member of the 19th’s board of directors, said that while people don’t often rate democracy as their top issue going into November, it is top of mind when they’re asked about their trust in the electoral process and the escalating rhetoric of this moment. Longwell said who we elect into office matters, and added that some of those politicians lean into fear and anger.

“It is important to have elected leaders who actually believe in the country and believe in what we’re doing here,” she said. “And I think that one of the only ways we get out of this is to have leaders who are able to articulate both why America is good, why we should have a strong role in the world, and why democracy matters.”

Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the U.S. House, told The 19th’s Errin Haines that having more women in politics will strengthen democracy.

“Nothing is more wholesome or better for politics or government than the increased participation of women,” said Pelosi, a Democrat. “… We have a responsibility to the future. We know it will be made better by increased participation of women.”

In a separate panel led by The 19th’s Mel Leonor Barclay on the barriers that women and LGBTQ+ people face ahead of the November election, experts highlighted the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, the realities of voter apathy, the implications of women’s lower levels of financial contributions to campaigns, and the normalization both online and offline of political violence and its ties to misogynistic rhetoric.

“The idea of gendered disinformation is to raise the cost of participating for women and marginalized communities,” said Nina Jankowicz, co-founder and CEO of The American Sunlight Project, a new advocacy group aimed at fighting disinformation. “It is to keep us out of public life.”

Jankowicz, the former executive director of a federal disinformation board, has studied how women and people of intersectional identities who run for office are more likely to face vitriolic abuse. She called disinformation a threat to democracy that impacts both major parties. She noted that some efforts to fight it have been countered with accusations that it would promote censorship, a narrative she rejects.

Kira Sanbonmatsu, a senior scholar at the Center for American Women in Politics, has researched campaign finance data in state politics over the past 20 years, concluding that at the moment men make political donations at a much higher rate than women.

“That means women aren’t necessarily getting the candidates that they prefer,” she said. “And those candidates might not make it to the ballot, and that means they might have less voice. And I think what we know, looking around at what’s happened over the last few years, states matter a lot, and women’s voices are not heard to the same extent as men’s in these state offices.”

Rebecca Caruthers, vice president of the Fair Elections Center, a nonpartisan voting rights group, previously worked on campaigns and noted the ways in which women candidates, particularly women of color, are running sharper campaigns that involve seeking advice and help from other women who run for office. She pointed out how Angela Alsobrooks, a county official, overcame a large spending disadvantage to win the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat.

“We can’t just look at the money factor to determine whether or not a woman candidate is going to be successful or not,” she said.

Sanbonmatsu later added that there are signs of the growing power of women donors. They’re beginning to play a bigger role as small contributors this election cycle. Their participation rate as donors is growing — the key is to encourage more of it.

“They need to be asked, they need to be mobilized,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of potential there.”

Alma Couverthie, chief of programs & interim co-CEO at the League of Women Voters, said leadership and activism are also central to upholding democracy. She said voter disillusionment can be misunderstood as certain voters not caring at all — but recent enthusiasm over structural changes, like amending the Electoral College system, shows that people can rally around issues they care about. 

Engaging voters on issues that are important to them is particularly relevant  in states with voting maps that disproportionately favor one major party.

“Addressing those issues, not only at the ballot box, but also about systemic change that needs to happen, is important to raise our hopes that a better democracy for us is possible,” she said.

Caruthers added that the Fair Elections Center is doing voter engagement at hundreds of college campuses. The initiative is taking organizers into 10 battleground states and some Southern states, with a goal of turning out more than 3 million students this election. Caruthers said students are enthused and tuned into both domestic and foreign policy debates ahead of the election. The organization is trying to equip them with tools like how to detect disinformation and misinformation, as well as history lessons on movement building.

“One thing that we let these students know, this is not the time to drop out,” she said. “This is the time to stay in, because we need you to be active.” 

Caruthers said the recruitment of poll workers — a temporary workforce that assembles to help full-time election workers run polling locations — can also help uphold democracy.

Both election workers and poll workers are predominantly women. And while election workers have been in the spotlight more amid harassment and threats of violence against them, Caruthers noted that poll workers are not immune. Still, she highlighted the Biden’s administration’s support for funding election security.

“It’s largely still safe to be a poll worker,” she said. “And we need more women. We need more young people. We need more people of color to sign up and be poll workers. Because one of the things that we see is that when neighbors see their other neighbors, when it’s time for them to go vote, it increases the likelihood that they’re going to vote and return in subsequent elections.”

Jankowicz said she’s most hopeful about the role of mothers this election cycle. Jankowicz said a network of them have supported her over the years as she has faced harassment for her work in fighting disinformation.

“Moms are really pissed off,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on, we are not happy about the way we’re being treated. We are not happy about our rights being taken away. We’re not happy about the little support that we get from our government in order to take care of these beautiful children that we have in our lives.”

The role of parenthood has a way of breaking down barriers to working together despite the polarization of today’s politics, Jankowicz added.

“That is what is keeping me going and frankly the network that I ⁣know I have to fall back on,” she said. “If you ever want to make a friend with somebody across the aisle, talk about potty training, ⁣that’s a really good way to establish a common report — ⁣that gives me hope.”