From: Nita and Shaunna, Ultraviolet

Dear Readers

Birth control, Planned Parenthood, equal pay laws, the right to earned family leave, and the right to control our own bodies and health care decisions are all issues that have dominated the political debate this year–but not one of these issues came up in the first presidential debate, even though that debate was supposed to cover all topics under the banner of “domestic policy.”

Now we have an opportunity to fix that–but we’ve got less than 12 hours to make it happen.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has launched a public site where anyone can submit a question to be considered for the Oct. 16 debate. This is our chance! If enough of us submit questions about these core issues that matter deeply to women–who make up a majority of the electorate–there’s a real chance one or more will make it into the debate.

The deadline for questions is TONIGHT at 11:59 PM ET, so get your question in right away. Whether it’s reproductive freedom, equal pay, domestic violence, or birth control, your question deserves to be answered. Getting these questions into the debate will come down to whether enough of us weigh in and in big enough numbers to make a real impression.

So far, just over 1,000 questions have been submitted. That means, with nearly 375,000 UltraViolet members, we have a huge opportunity to make sure questions about issues that matter to women—from contraception, choice and abortion, to equal pay, domestic violence, and family leave policies—are noticed.

We can’t let the final domestic policy debate go by without these important issues being addressed. Women are 52% of the population, and all of these issues impact not just women, but our families, the economy, and all of society.

The presidential election is less than 30 days away. Now is when millions of voters are just beginning to tune in and pay attention to what the candidates have to say, so this upcoming debate on October 16 will be crucial. All voters, women and men, deserve to know where the presidential candidates stand on these important issues.

Check out the site and submit your question today.
http://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e=1fe6a2

Thanks for speaking out,

Nita, Shaunna, and Kat, the UltraViolet team