Single Women May Decide 2004 Election
In an article by Allison Stevens, reporting for Women's E-News...."Unmarried women are emerging as a new voting bloc in the upcoming presidential election later this year. The trick will be getting this group, which has a relatively low turnout rate, to the voting booth in November."
According to Stan Greenberg (a Democratic pollster) if unmarried women voted at the same rate as married women , they would have a decisive impact on the outcome of the elections and be the "agents of change" in modern politics.
A survey done in 2003 showed that single women could have changed the outcome of the elections in 2000 between Al Gore and President Moron. 68% of married women voted in that election while only 52% of single women made it to the polls.
So how do they plan to draw more single female voters to the polls in 2004?
In 2002, Democratic strategists taught 750 women in a twelve states in the Southwest and Midwest how to spread the Democratic message strategy to their friends, family members and colleagues.
More recently, two politically active women, Page Gardner and Christina Desser, launched Women's Voices. Women Vote to study the voting habits of single women and increase their participation in the political process
Who would they vote for?
The survey found that single women are not tied to a single political party. But Democrats found reason to believe they might support their candidates given that they are more likely to hold progressive views on social policy issues such as abortion, gun control and gay rights. Single women are also more likely to struggle financially and are more concerned about their financial viability than are married women. Democrats also took heart from one of the surveys more dramatic findings: 65 percent of the respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction, a number that suggests many are dissatisfied with the status quo and may seek a change in November.