By Dominika Maslikoswki

Read the original article at Mohave Daily News.

BULLHEAD CITY - The general election might be months away, but some organizations are already brainstorming ideas on reaching out to the nation's largest bloc of nonvoters and urging them to register.

Unmarried women make up about a quarter of all eligible voters, and numbered 30 million in 2006. It's a voting bloc that could determine the outcome of an election and give any candidate - whether a party heavyweight or a fringe politician - a boost in the polls.

But although they're a significant chunk of the voting public, unmarried women also one of the hardest groups to reach.

Women's Voices. Women Vote - a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that seeks to mobilize unmarried women to register to vote - says their effort is particularly important in Arizona, where one of every two citizens eligible to vote is either unregistered or inactive.

“If half of Arizona's citizens don't vote, democracy ultimately loses,” said president and founder Page Gardner. “We are working hard to encourage Arizonans to register and vote.”

A recent WVWV mailing in Arizona encouraged citizens to register and cast their ballot on Election Day. The forms were sent to individuals who the group identified as unregistered based on comparisons between the official Arizona voter file and a commercial list.

In 2006, more than 400,000 unmarried women in Arizona were still not registered. More than 165,000 unmarried women were registered, but didn't vote.

“For the first time in history, there are as many unmarried women as there are married women in our country. Because they are often single working parents, with all the challenges that come with that role, they are less likely to register and vote than their married counterparts,” Gardner said. “Our mission is to make the process as easy as possible for those women.”

The Colorado River Republican Women hosted events which drew local women. There was no political agenda, but events like the Women's Safety Program brought them in and offered information on voter registration.

The group will be looking at more strategies as this year's elections near, said Shirley Ciresa, treasurer and past president. And it might host another program for women that gives tips on registration.

“That's a really hard segment to reach because typically an unmarried women is working or is a single mom and their time is not terribly available,” Ciresa said.

“Hopefully we can plant the seed and let it germinate into the thought process, because this is a very important election.”