Unmarried Women in the Battleground

1
Unmarried Women in the Battleground
Womens Voices. Women Vote. Action Fund
2
Unmarried and Married Women Now Equal in
Population

• 53 million single, separated, divorced or
  widowed women who are adult U.S. citizens
• Unmarried Women are growing at twice the rate of
  married women.

Note Data from 2006 US Census American Community
Survey.
3
Marriage Gap Cuts Across All Demographics
2004 Net Vote for President (Dem Rep) by
Marital Status
Note Data from 2004 Edison/Mitofsky/CNN Network
Exit Polls
4
Single Women 2006 Vote Changing Americas
Landscape
Note Data from 2006 Edison/Mitofsky/CNN Network
Exit Polls
5
Wrong Track Higher Among Unmarried
Generally speaking, do you think that things in
this country are going in the right direction, or
do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously
off on the wrong track?
All voters numbers based on Democracy Corps
survey from June 22-25, 2008.
6
Marriage Gap Economic Status

• Economically Stretched
• 22 of unmarried women below poverty line versus
  7 of married women.
• Less Health Care Coverage for Unmarried Women
• 1 in 5 are without healthcare versus 1 in 7 of
  all Americans.
• 28 Rely on Medicare versus 20 of married
  Americans.
• 11 on Medicaid versus 2 of married Americans.
• Children in Poverty
• One-half of children under 6 living in a
  household with a single mom are living in
  poverty.

Note Data from US Census CPS 2006
7
Gas Prices Dominate Economy Worries
Now I am going to read you a list of problems
relating to the economy. After I read the list,
please tell me which TWO are the most important
problems in your life.
8
Strong Support from Unmarried Women
Now let me ask you again about your vote for
president, but with candidate names. I know it is
a long way off, but if the election for president
were held today and the candidates were Democrat
Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, for whom
would you vote?
Marriage gap
28
31
32
23
-5
1
2004 Presidential1
Obama trial heat post-primary2
1 Based on data from 2004 Edison/Mitofsky/CNN
exit surveys in select battleground states. 2
Unnmaried women numbers reflect likely voters
only on June WVWV battleground survey married
numbers reflect results of June Democracy Corps
survey .
9
Women Move to Obama Marriage Gap Stays the Same
Now let me ask you again about your vote for
president, but with candidate names. I know it is
a long way off, but if the election for president
were held today and the candidates were Democrat
Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, for whom
would you vote?
29
31
Marriage gap
20
-9
32
1
Obama trial heat pre-primary1
Obama trial heat post-primary2
1 Based on combined Democracy Corps data set from
March-May, 2008. 2 Unnmaried women numbers
reflect likely voters only on June WVWV
battleground survey married numbers reflect
results of June Democracy Corps survey .
10
Just the Facts, Mam, Most Effective Approach
Now let me ask you again about your vote for
president, but with candidate names. I know it is
a long way off, but if the election for president
were held today and the candidates were Democrat
Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, for whom
would you vote?
28
35
24
29
11
Still Room To Grow
I know it is a long way off, but thinking about
the election in 2008, if the election for
president were held today, for whom would you
vote the Democratic candidate/Barack Obama or
the Republican candidate/John McCain?
12
Obama Biography
Barack Obama was raised by a single white mom and
his grandparents. The family didn't have much
money, but Obama studied hard and worked his way
up. After graduating from Harvard, rather than
going to a rich law-firm on Wall Street, Obama
became a community organizer in Chicago with a
church-based group seeking to help black, white
and Latino poor neighborhoods. Obama was elected
to the State Senate in Illinois in 1996, where he
worked to cut taxes for the middle class, move
people from welfare to work and provide health
care coverage to thousands of uninsured families
in Illinois. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in
2004. In the U.S. Senate, Obama led the fight for
bipartisan ethics reform and introduced major
legislation on immigration and veterans'
benefits. He also worked with leading Republicans
to pass legislation designed to find and secure
deadly nuclear materials. He has been married for
16 years and is raising two daughters.
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Page 12
13
Unmarried Women Committed to Voting
What are the chances that you will vote in the
elections for President and other offices in
November, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 means
you are absolutely certain to vote and 1 means
you are certain not to vote?
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Page 13
14
Knowing the Facts Increases Likelihood of Voting
What are the chances that you will vote in the
elections for President and other offices in
November, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 means
you are absolutely certain to vote and 1 means
you are certain not to vote?
5
2
2
15
Debate Favors Obama
16
Debate Favors Obama, continued
17
Iraq, Economy Haunt McCain
Now let me read you a series of statements about
Republican John McCain. For each statement,
please tell me whether this description, if
accurate, raises very serious doubts, serious
doubts, minor doubts or no real doubts in your
own mind about Republican John McCain.
McCain would actually make our healthcare crisis
worse. He voted against increasing health care
coverage for 10 million children and voted to cut
billions of dollars from Medicare. His own health
care plan takes people out of the employer based
system and denies coverage to people with
pre-existing conditions.
69
McCain does not understand the challenges many
women face. He voted eight times against raising
the minimum wage and to take away overtime pay
for 8 million American workers. He voted against
equal pay legislation requiring women to be paid
the same as men for the same work and said, if
elected president he will cut 160 billion dollars
from early education, student loans, affordable
housing, and transportation.
67
The war in Iraq costs taxpayers 10 billion
dollars a month - more than a trillion dollars so
far. With our economy in recession, jobs headed
overseas and gas prices skyrocketing, we could be
using that money to rebuild our schools and
roads, invest in alternative energy and create
jobs. But McCain's commitment to a blank check in
Iraq would cost another trillion dollars over his
term in office.
65
McCain says he is different, but his policies are
the same as Bush. He supports Bush's war in Iraq,
he supports Bush's economic program and tax cuts
for the wealthy, he even supports Bush's tax cuts
for big oil companies.
65
McCain opposes abortion for many women, even in
cases of rape, incest, or when a woman's life is
in danger, and he would nominate judges who would
overturn current Constitutional protections of
abortion rights.
60
18
Survey Specs

• This presentation is based on a survey of 1,004
  registered unmarried women conducted from June
  19-24, 2008. The survey carries an overall
  margin of error of /- 3.10 points. The
  battleground is defined as the states of
  Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,
  Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New
  Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and
  Wisconsin.

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Page 18
19
(No Transcript)