GETTING OUT THE VOTE: WOMEN’S DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL MOBILIZATION IN GHANA * Kathleen M. Fallon † Although the mobilization of women in Latin America prior to and during the transition to democracy has been well-studied, the mobilization of women in sub-Saharan Africa during this transition has received little attention. Yet, the study of women’s mobilization within an emerging democratic state of sub-Saharan Africa would provide insight into how women may renegotiate their position in relation to transforming political structures, and how they may work to redefine their own rights. This article analyzes the case of Ghana to examine the mobilization of women in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, multivariate analyses of a survey of 621 women and in-depth interviews with thirty-three members of women’s organizations are used to explore whether women’s organizations are attempting to mobilize women to participate in the formal political process during the transition to democracy, and, if so, whether their efforts are successful. The results indicate that women’s organizations view the electoral process as a means to mobilize women, that they have attempted to mobilize women to participate in elections, and that their mobilization efforts influenced the political behavior of women. Implications of these findings for our understanding of women’s mobilization in sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to those in Latin America are discussed. In emerging democratic states, citizens renegotiate political institutional frameworks (Huiskamp 2000) and redefine their rights by participating in nascent formal political proc- esses through acts such as voting. This participation is particularly important for women in developing countries since, under dictatorial regimes, women’s issues tend to be excluded from government policy (Chazan 1989; Geisler 1995; Jelin 1996; Mikell 1997; Parpart and Staudt 1989; Tripp 1994). With transitions to democracy, women may recognize new opportunities for participation and mobilize to improve their political, civil, and social rights. A primary means of securing rights is by participating in electoral politics (Rosenstone and Hansen 1993). By voting in multiparty elections, women acknowledge their right to choose leaders and to voice their political interests through the formal political processes. * I would like to thank York Bradshaw, Robert V. Robinson, Brian Powell, Clem Brooks, Beverly Stoeltje, Art Alderson, Patricia McManus, Kent Redding, Bill Corsaro, Craig Jenkins, Jocelyn Viterna, David Meyer, James Ron, Gracia Clark, Giovani Burgos, and Dave Brady for their insightful comments on my drafts. In addition, I appreciate the feedback, comments and suggestions from Hank Johnston and anonymous reviewers at Mobilization. I am indebted to all of the women in Ghana who provided interviews and agreed to be surveyed. Finally, I thank the U.S. Department of Education for providing me the opportunity to carry out my research by awarding me the Fulbright- Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, the National Science Foundation for the Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award, and the Institute for the Study of World Politics. † Direct all correspondence to Kathleen M. Fallon, Department of Sociology, McGill University, Stephen Leacock Building, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal QC H3A 2T7 Canada. © Mobilization: An International Journal: 8(3): 273-296 273