• by Fern Siegel , October 23, 2007

It's not just Hillary Clinton who is making women voters a lynchpin of her White House bid. WE tv network is also getting into the political game. The network is creating a national grassroots initiative hoping to register more than 1 million women to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

WE tv will co-partner with several advocacy groups, including The Creative Coalition, Women's Voices. Women Vote, and the Women's Campaign Forum, to educate women on key issues that impact their future. The year-long campaign--WE Vote '08 project--will have bipartisan co-chairs: Geraldine Ferraro, former Democratic vice presidential candidate, three-term Congresswoman and columnist for the New York Times syndicate, and Susan Molinari, a former GOP Congresswoman and president of Ketchum Public Affairs.

To jump-start the WE Vote '08 project, the net will feature a series of interstitials showcasing high-profile female celebrities who support the mission. It will also include a multi-platform marketing campaign to drive voter registration on the national and local level, as well as door-to-door drives, educational forums and WE Vote '08 parties.

In addition to the political muscle, talk-show host Kelly Ripa, of "Live With Regis and Kelly," Grammy award-winning artist LeAnn Rimes and Kerry Washington, actress and board member of The Creative Coalition, have signed onto the campaign.

Plus, the network kicks off WEvote08.com today. The site makes voter registration easier and provides the candidates' positions on issues relevant to women. It runs daily election news, key voting facts, polling info and blogs.

"Over the last few years, WE tv has grown beyond an entertainment brand and has become a focal point of empowerment and useful information for millions of women. "The WE Vote '08 initiative will ... leverage our resources to help ensure that women have the strongest possible voice in the 2008 election," said Kim Martin, executive vice president and general manager for WE tv. "It is our hope that this initiative, this investment, will galvanize women across the country to register to vote en masse."

Ripa said it is vital that "women are educated on the key issues that affect them. If one more person can become empowered to exercise their right to vote in this next election, then WE Vote '08 is a success."