These Female Celebs Joined Forces To Encourage Women To Vote In The 2018 Midterms

With the midterm elections just days away, a powerful new ad aimed at reaching women voters is being broadcast across the United States. This "Because It Matters" voting ad features a host of female celebrities encouraging women — and all voters — to make sure that their voices are heard on Nov. 6.

As CBS reported, the new ad is funded by the Independence USA PAC and directed by Jodie Foster. It features over a dozen women celebrities, like Minka Kelly, Cher, Olivia Munn, Constance Wu, Laverne Cox, and more. The message of the ad is abundantly clear — it's essential that you get out and vote in the midterms if you care about any number of issues, including human rights, health care, gun control, women's equality, and beyond.

In a statement about the new ad, Foster emphasized that its message is particularly targeted at women voters. As Foster asserted (via IndieWire):

Women’s voices are being listened to in a way that they haven’t been before. And it’s not just women candidates. It’s women voters and women activists ... Women across the country have concerns and strong points of view and they can make a difference by going to the polls on November 6th. We hope that this campaign, featuring familiar faces in the entertainment industry, will inspire others to share their views and more importantly take action on Election Day ...

A statement from former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who produced the ad along with RadicalMedia, echoed similar thoughts. “It is hard to overstate the importance of this election ... The good news is that more women are running than ever before, and female voters overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates for the House and Senate," he said. "The polls suggest a gender gap in voting larger than anytime since the 1950s. But this election will be decided by turnout and getting people to cast their ballots ..."

The press release for the ad indicates that it is particularly designed to help Democrats in House of Representatives races. It will air around the country and also in areas with competitive House races through Nov. 6.

CBS reported that, according to its most recent battleground tracker poll, 47 percent of college-educated women in key House districts said they plan to vote for candidates who represent opposition to Trump on Nov. 6. 24 percent of these women said they will cast their votes in a way that is supportive of Trump, and 29 percent noted that their vote is not related to their feelings about the president.

The news network also reported that Democratic supporters are certainly not the only ones releasing political ads ahead of the midterms. As CBS described, the Trump campaign announced on Oct. 29 that it is funding a $6 million political ad to encourage voters to cast their ballots for Republican candidates in the midterm elections.

It remains to be seen just how much of an impact these ads will have on whether or not voters head to the polls on Nov. 6 — and on for whom they cast their ballots. It is certainly clear that supporters of both parties are taking significant steps to get their message out to voters ahead of Election Day.