Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on the Issues at Stake During Midterm Elections: ‘These Are Life-and-Death’

Midterm elections never seem to garner the same kind of attention presidential elections do—in fact, voter turnout is roughly 20% lower. There are a number of hypotheses that attempt to explain this stark difference, though the most obvious answer might be that midterms simply aren’t as sexy as presidential races. With several candidates to keep track of, news coverage tends to be more localized and less salacious.

Another popular theory: Low turnout can be chalked up to the myth that voters believe they can’t truly make a difference at a local level. But the midterms arguably matter even more than presidential elections. That became abundantly clear this year after numerous state leaders seized the opportunity to enact near-total abortion bans after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

“The midterms are essential in determining what direction the country’s going to go in,” says Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. The stakes of the 2022 midterm elections are particularly high, with issues like voting rights, paid leave, abortion access, and filibuster reform up for debate.

Here, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand talks about the issues we should all be talking about ahead of the midterms and why the upcoming midterm cycle is an especially pivotal moment for the nation.

Abortion access

If Republicans win the majority in the House and Senate, Mitch McConnell has said he wants to codify a nationwide abortion ban. Lindsay Graham has already put forward legislation to deny women the right to make those life-and-death decisions on their own. So it’s essential that people vote if reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy is important to them. If they believe that women—50% of the US population—deserve that right to privacy, then voting is a priority. Holding these majorities is the only way to guarantee we won’t have a federal abortion ban.

The filibuster

One of the ways we could codify Roe v. Wade and guarantee reproductive freedom is to vote on it. But there are only 50 senators who support that right to privacy and reproductive freedom. To pass a law with only 50 votes, or 51 votes, we would need to amend or bridge the filibuster, because it currently requires 60 votes to end debate on any issue. We don’t have 60 votes. We only have 48 Senate votes of people willing to amend the filibuster—so we’d have to win at least two more Senate seats to be able to look at changing the rules.

Voting rights

The Democrats have a very robust piece of legislation that was largely written by the late John Lewis. We have support for it in the House and in the Senate, but not bipartisan support, so we have not been able to pass that bill. If we decided to amend or abridge the filibuster, we would pass that bill. It’d be probably the first vote we’d make because everything stems from voting rights. There is one small bipartisan bill we might vote on this year, which is fixing the Electoral College. That is something that needs to be fixed because President Trump, if you remember, believed that a provision of the Electoral College Law allowed him to change Electoral College outcomes just by getting the legislatures to change their views. That is not what the statute of the law is. We have a bipartisan bill—that I think has enough votes to pass—that would clarify that and say what President Trump intended to do is not legal.

Paid leave

Democrats believe in a universal paid leave plan—one that will allow all individuals to be able to take time off for critical life events, whether it’s the birth or adoption of a new child, a sick family member, or a dying parent. Those are life events that come up in every worker’s life. Without a national paid leave plan, usually the lowest paid or the least powerful workers will not have access to it. Only about 20% of American workers have access to paid leave today, and it’s just not enough. It means a lot of people have to choose between putting food on the table and meeting that urgent need of caring for a loved one. That’s a choice, frankly, Americans shouldn’t have to make.

We’re the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t have paid leave. Making that a priority is something that’s very important to New Yorkers. We have a statewide pay leave, but many states don’t. So I’m fighting for a national paid leave plan. If Democrats are not in charge of Congress, we will not get a vote on it. I’m working very hard right now on a bipartisan basis to see what common ground could be found, because we do have the House and Senate. Maybe we can have a vote by the end of the year.

Childcare and preschool funding

Unfortunately, daycare is really expensive for American families and many simply can’t afford it. We should be subsidizing daycare. We should be investing in early childhood education, because for every dollar you put in, that kid is going to earn and put more into the economy—$11, $12, $13 for every dollar you put in. It’s a huge return on your investment.

Second, we know that when you spend time giving kids early childhood education through quality, affordable daycare or through pre-K programs, they reach their full potential. All their abilities come to fruition. They’re going to be able to earn more money. They’re going to be able to take a larger role in their community. It’s good for the country, and it’s good for the economy. It should be something we invest in the same way we invest in roads and bridges and internet and other basic infrastructure that’s necessary for work to get done. Daycare should be considered part of that workplace infrastructure, so we have a number of bills I’m working on right now with some Republicans to see if I can find bipartisan support. But in general, most of these ideas are Democratic ideas. Certainly we’re the only ones who make it a priority in our agenda.

Military justice reform

One of the challenges we have in the US military is that the rate of men and women who are sexually assaulted and raped is extremely high. The last estimate made by the military itself was 35,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact, sexual assault, and rape. That is a horrible number, and the conviction rate is very low. One or two percent of these cases end in conviction. I wrote a law that requires these cases to be handled outside of the chain of command by trained military prosecutors to create more professionalism, transparency, and accountability in the system and to have oversight by someone who’s not in the same chain of command as the accused or the accuser. If my language stays in the National Defense Authorization Bill, which we’re going to vote on after the election, we will have a much more transparent, accountable system going forward. Hopefully our reforms stay in place and we can pass them into law. It’ll make a huge difference for men and women in the military.

Close races

I would urge people to get involved in a couple of the Senate races. One that needs support right now is Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s race in Nevada. To those who can: Go to Nevada, knock on doors, or make phone calls for her campaign. You can make calls from anywhere, or lift up her message through social media. You can also send money or resources.

The same thing’s true with a candidate in Pennsylvania, Lt. Governor John Fetterman. His race is also neck and neck, so showing up to do door-to-door in Pennsylvania is something New Yorkers can certainly do. It’s very close.

There are other important races where Democrats are doing very well but are always tough to win. Mark Kelly’s doing well in Arizona, but we need to help make sure he continues to succeed. Senator Raphael Warnock is in Georgia and he has to continue to succeed. He’s up right now, but it’s a red state. Senator Maggie Hassan is in a purple state, and we want to make sure she wins.

Some other open seats that we have a chance of winning include Congressman Tim Ryan in Ohio. He is currently neck and neck, so helping him win would be really great. Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, also neck and neck. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin needs more support. So does Val Demings in Florida. These are key races that make the difference, because there are five seats. The last five I mentioned are all flippable seats. If we can win two or three of them, you’d have that majority to change the rules for the filibuster.

Same sex-marriage

We have a bipartisan bill to guarantee LGBTQ+ equality through marriage equality, and that bill is ready to be voted on. After the election, we will call the vote. I’m optimistic we will get 60 votes.

The stakes are too high to stay at home

If you look at the maternal mortality rate in this country, we’re among the worst of industrialized countries. And if you’re a Black woman in this country, it’s four times higher. These are life-and-death issues for many families, so we have to fight like our lives depend on it. Because they do. It’s a very critical election, and this is the time to stand for something and do the work. It’s only a few weeks away. You just need to work hard to make sure your voice is heard and that your values are heard. You can amplify that in every state that has a tough election. It’s why our democracy is so vital and why this moment in time is one to not only embrace democracy but fight for it.