Washington, D.C. -- A post-election poll commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) reveals that while independents proved decisive in the Massachusetts election for the U.S. Senate, there is a disconnect between voting and the desire for change among key constituencies in the electorate that is driving recent elections.

The results of the poll offer clear evidence that the voting in Massachusetts is a continuation of trends that WVWV first reported last November after the elections in New Jersey and Virginia: decreased turnout among Rising American Electorate (RAE) – women, youth, African Americans, and Latinos; Republicans beginning to make inroads with some traditionally Democratic voters; the existence of the “marriage gap,” and a striking disconnect between voters who voted for and still support President Obama and their electoral participation.

Summarizing these trends,

•    Turnout is an important factor driving the results in these elections.  Voters in the Rising American Electorate are disengaged and their share of the electorate has dropped.

•    Changes in the margin of voting by RAE groups are also a factor.  Progressive candidates are not gaining the share of votes among RAE voters that they have in 2008 and 2006.  Coakley won the RAE vote but by a smaller margin than in the past, and the RAE represented a smaller vote share than in recent elections.

•    The “marriage gap” -- differences in the voting rates and preferences between unmarried and married women – continues to drive electoral outcomes.  There was a 17point marriage gap in terms of partisanship; however, the impact of the unmarried women’s vote was somewhat muted due to their decreased participation.

•    Voters have divided emotions about the pace of change and the direction of the country, but generally support the policies advocated by President Obama and Democrats.

Responding to these trends, Page Gardner, President of WVWV, said: “Following what we observed in the elections in New Jersey and Virginia the voting in Massachusetts now establishes a clear trend of voter drop-off among Rising American Electorate and the existence of a marriage gap that is being shaped by declining participation by unmarried women.”  

Gardner continued:  “In Massachusetts, RAE voters represent just under half of all eligible voters, yet they continue to underperform that share at the ballot box.  Last night, the RAE was roughly 27 percent of all voters – a decline of 9 points compared to 2008 and 18 points lower than their overall share of eligible voters.”

Other findings of note:

Independents were key. As nearly all publicly available polling demonstrated over the last few weeks, independents played a large role in this election and that role was magnified due to voter drop-off and voting patterns among key segments of the RAE.  Democrats enjoy a large registration advantage in Massachusetts, but that registration advantage was not large enough to offset huge losses among independents and smaller losses among some of the RAE.

Issue divisions were also important. While Coakley won health care voters, Brown won among jobs and economy voters and tax and spend voters.  

A complete polling memo, top-line results from the poll, and a PowerPoint presentation of our analysis are included as attachment and available on our Website at www.WVWV.org.

Washington, DC – Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) has commissioned the only post-election poll of the vote for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, a bi-partisan survey conducted by the polling firms Lake Partners Research and American Viewpoint.

The survey examines all turnout patterns with a particular look at those voters in the Rising American Electorate (RAE) – unmarried women, youth, African Americans, and Latinos.  These voters make up 52% of the voting eligible population nationally, and comprise 44% of all eligible voters in Massachusetts.  Unmarried women represent the largest marital status group in Massachusetts.

The survey will also explore the strength and the dimensions of the “marriage gap,” the differences in the voting rates and preferences between unmarried women and their married counterparts.     

WVWV is dedicated to education and research regarding unmarried women and other historically under-represented groups in the electorate and is at the forefront of analyzing voter drop-off and who will vote in the 2010 elections.

Please join us to discuss the results and our analysis following the election on Wednesday morning.  

Time: 10:30am, Wednesday, January 20, 2010.

Call information: Dial-in Number: 1-270-400-1500.   Participant Access Code: 535066.

For more information, please contact:
John Delicath
Women’s Voices. Women Vote
202-271-4896
jdelicath@wvwv.org
http://www.wvwv.org

Washington, D.C. -- Women’s Voices Women Vote (WVWV) is pleased to announce the appointment of Amy C. Young as the organization’s Executive Director.  She will be responsible for managing the organization’s programs and overseeing its daily operations.
Ms. Young comes to WVWV with extensive experience in the non-profit and for-profit sectors, specializing in organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising, and grassroots organizing.  In her nearly 20 years of experience, Amy has developed a particular expertise in mobilizing citizens to participate in elections and public policy debates.

Most recently, Amy was president of the consulting firm Progressive Solutions Group.  Previously, she was the Executive Director of Voices for Working Families.  Prior to that Amy served as Midwest and Deputy Political Director for the Democratic National Committee.  She also served two years as the Executive Director of the Ohio Democratic Party.  Amy has also worked for the ACLU, AFL-CIO, and SEIU.  She began her career as a legislative aide to Ohio State Senator, Neal Zimmers.

A native of Ohio, Amy graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Dayton with Bachelor of the Arts degrees in History and Political Science.

Washington, D.C.  –  A new article published at the Center for American Progress outlines several provisions in the Affordable Health Care for America Act that will address existing health insurance obstacles facing unmarried women and serve to expand quality, affordable health insurance coverage for them.

Unmarried women -- single, divorced, and widowed -- face unique challenges in obtaining and maintaining health insurance.  With less income, jobs that often do not offer health insurance plans, and without access to coverage provided by the policy of a spouse, these women often face nearly insurmountable challenges to obtaining health insurance.  One quarter of unmarried women between the ages of 18 and 64 are currently without health insurance.  

"The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a major step forward in addressing the health insurance disparities that affect unmarried women across all income levels,” said Page Gardner, Founder and President of Women’s Voices Women Vote (WVWV).

“While it is our hope that the Senate will address the unnecessary and discriminatory Stupak amendment -- which goes beyond existing restrictions on abortion and effectively denies abortion coverage within the insurance exchange program -- the Affordable Health Care for America Act undoubtedly will help millions of women currently without health insurance.”  Gardner added, “Nevertheless, the Senate ought to ensure, at the very least, that women are afforded the right to spend their own money on insurance plans that meet all their health care needs.”

Wide Variety of Economic Indicators Show Unmarried Women
Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Current Economy

Washington, D.C. -- A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) finds troubling unemployment numbers and a bleak economic picture for unmarried women.

According to the latest unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.3 percent of unmarried women age 20 and over are unemployed; that’s 3.3 million women.  Moreover, for unmarried women who head families, the unemployment rate is 12.6 percent, 2.4 points above the national average. Of all unemployed women workers, 61 percent are unmarried.

“While the nation’s economic turmoil has affected all Americans, the impact on unmarried women has been truly devastating,” said Page Gardner, president and founder of Women’s Voices Women Vote.  “With this report, we have now seen a steady stream of research showing that across nearly every economic indicator, from unemployment and poverty to foreclosures and health insurance, unmarried women, and especially single heads of households, are under crushing financial pressures.”

From the report:

Due to unemployment, 276,000 children of single mothers have lost health insurance they received through their mother’s employer-sponsored plan.

Foreclosures have risen for single women, and homeless shelters have seen an increase in the number of families, mostly headed by women.

Poverty rates for unmarried women are usually much higher than for married women (20.8 percent versus 6.2 percent of women 18 and over in 2008, the most recent data available), and poverty rates are likely even higher in 2009 due to growing unemployment.

Unmarried women also have few financial resources: They usually rely on a single income and, as women earn, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Their lower household incomes and less savings compared to married couples makes it harder to prepare for a financial emergency like unemployment.

Click here to read the full report.  And for more of CAP’s research on the economic conditions that unmarried women face today, please click here.

Washington, DC – While much has been made about what the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia portend for 2010,  a post election survey of voters and non-voters commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) explains who voted, who didn’t, and why – and identifies trends missed by most pundits and analysts.
WVWV’s survey offers an in-depth look at the difference between the Rising American Electorate (RAE) ---unmarried women, youth (18-29), African Americans, Latinos, and other non-white races--- and the rest of the voters and non-voters in New Jersey and Virginia.  
“Looking at the results of this survey, it is clear that WVWV and other civic engagement groups will have to develop methods and messages for engaging the Rising American Electorate so that the gains achieved in voter engagement and participation during the 2008 elections can be sustained,” said Page Gardner, founder and president of Women’s Voices Women Vote.  “Such efforts are crucial to our ensuring that our public policy debates and future elections reflect the greatest number of citizens and broadest range of voices.”

Key findings from the survey include:

•    Marital Status Played a Definitive Role in Voter Choice.  The “marriage gap” -- the difference in voting behavior between married and unmarried women – was a significant factor in these elections.   While much was made of the gubernatorial candidates’ efforts in both states to reach out to women voters, our research once again confirms that there is no such thing as “women voters,” as married and unmarried women women have very different lives, views, and voting patterns.

•    Turnout declined among RAE voters between 2008 and 2009.  While the decline in turnout is not unusual, the fact that independents broke so heavily for the Republican candidates made the effect more pronounced than in 2005, when Corzine and Kaine won their seats.

•    Politics is Still Local -- These elections primarily turned on judgments of events in Richmond and Trenton and the specific candidates in these states; the elections were not a referendum on Obama’s performance or even the pace of change in the country.

Please find a memo with analysis of the poll and a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the key findings attached with this release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                     Contact:

October 16, 2009                                                                                                                              John Delicath

202-271-4896

jdelicath@wvwv.org

Shriver Report Highlights Role of Unmarried Women in One of the Greatest Social Transformations of Our Time

Washington, DC—The Center for American Progress (CAP), in partnership with Maria Shriver, has broken new ground with the publication of “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything.”   The report takes a hard look at how women’s changing roles are affecting our major societal institutions, from government and businesses to our faith communities, and examines how our society is responding to one of the greatest social transformations of our time.

One of the dynamics highlighted in the report is how unmarried women are affecting and being affected by this social transformation.  There are currently more than 51 million single, separated, divorced, or widowed women in the United States.  There are almost as many unmarried women as there are married women, and unmarried women are one of the fastest growing demographic groups.  Unmarried women are also increasing their participation in electoral politics, but are still under-represented in relation to their share of the population.

“The book discusses the challenges that unmarried women workers face, especially single moms and female-headed households. Unmarried women need good jobs to support themselves and their families, and they need a system that supports them in taking care of their families,” said Page Gardner, founder and President of Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV).  “At WVWV, we are finding ways to both engage and inform women on issues that matter most in their lives.  Theirs is an important voice to be heard in the national conversation about modernizing public policies and business practices to better meet their circumstances.”

Gardner’s essay in the report, “Single in a Married-Centered World,” explores the unique challenges facing unmarried women in these times.  You can read the essay here.

In conjunction with the report, WVWV also released a video with Gardner and Heather Boushey, a CAP senior economist and co-editor of the report, discussing how unmarried women are faring in the economy and the workplace.  You can see the video of the interview here at WVWV’s website.

*

Women’s Voices. Women Vote is a 501©3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that does not endorse political candidates. WVWV is dedicated to increasing the share of unmarried women and other historically under-represented groups in the electorate.

Network Nominated for Golden Beacon Award for its
“Every Woman Counts” Campaign

Washington, DC --- Women’s Voices Women Vote congratulates Lifetime Networks for being nominated by the Association of Cable Communicators (ACC) for its Golden Beacon Award.  Lifetime received the nomination for its “Every Woman Counts” campaign, the entertainment industry's only ongoing public advocacy campaign dedicated to amplifying women's voices in the political process, encouraging them to register to vote, and to run for political office.

The Golden Beacon award is the ACC’s highest honor and recognizes a communications and public affairs campaign for making an impact on the cable industry and enhancing the image of cable television.

Women’s Voices Women Vote was proud to be a partner in the Every Woman Counts Coalition and applauds the ACC for recognizing Lifetime’s contributions toward inspiring women nationwide to make their voices heard in the 2008 elections.

“Lifetime is truly deserving of this nomination,” said Page Gardner, President of Women’s Voices Women Vote.   “Lifetime’s Every Woman Counts Coalition was an unprecedented effort to bring women into the political process and to make their voices heard in our democracy.  It was also a tremendous success, reaching out to millions of women across the United States.”

Washington, D.C. – With unmarried Americans bearing a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic hard times, Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) today released a report titled, “The Economics of Unmarried America” aimed at drawing a clear and nonpartisan picture of the lives of unmarried Americans. The report’s findings were compiled by Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.– Seeking to focus the attention of lawmakers and election reform groups on the obstacles to full participation of the American electorate and the path to election reform, Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) today released a comprehensive report titled, “Access to Democracy: Identifying Obstacles Hindering the Right to Vote.” Consolidating a variety of studies from expert sources into one document, the findings confirm the most significant obstacles to voter participation and outline those election reforms which would yield the most positive results.

Washington, D.C. – February’s unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released today, reinforces what one advocacy group has been emphasizing for years: Unmarried women are among the hardest hit during an economic crisis. The current overall unemployment rate is 8.1% and for unmarried women, 9.5% is not only higher than the national average, but is also essentially double that of married women (5.1%).

WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried women of Minnesota were more likely to support Democrat Al Franken over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman by 38 point margin. In the Presidential election, Minnesota unmarried women were more likely to support Barack Obama by 47 points.

The Lake Research Partners election survey, commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote, was conducted in Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Minnesota. The survey found unmarried women offered critical support for progressive candidates in all of the states.

WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried Georgia women played a key role in a race that was considered safe for Republicans but has resulted in a runoff between Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss.

In the Presidential election unmarried women in Georgia supported Democrat Jim Martin by 49 points (71% to 22%). They also supported Barack Obama by 42 points.

The Lake Research Partners election survey, commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote, was conducted in Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Minnesota. The survey found unmarried women offered critical support for progressive candidates in all of the states. In Georgia married women supported McCain over Obama, and Chambliss over Martin.

WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried women of New Hampshire were more likely to support Democrat Jeanne Shaheen over incumbent Republican John Sununu by 34 points. In the Presidential election, New Hampshire unmarried women were more likely to support Barack Obama by 38 points.

WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried women of North Carolina were more likely to support Democrat Kay Hagan over long-time incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole by 30 point margin. In the Presidential election, North Carolina unmarried women were more likely to support Barack Obama by 30 points.

The Lake Research Partners election survey, commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote, was conducted in Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Minnesota. The survey found unmarried women offered critical support for progressive candidates in all of the states.