New Report Identifies Importance of Unmarried African American Women in 2008 Elections

Women’s Voices Women Vote report highlights impact of Unmarried African American Women in upcoming elections

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the cusp of the South Carolina Democratic primary, Women’s Voices Women Vote releases new research detailing the impact of unmarried African American women in the 2008 elections.

“Unmarried women are the fastest growing, large demographic, and African American women are eighteen percent of all single women in our country,” said Page Gardner, President of Women’s Voices Women Vote. “African American women have an agenda and they will take that agenda into the voting booth,” said Gardner.

WVWV’s latest research notes unmarried African American women are highly motivated to vote, and economic issues dominate their agenda. “Unmarried African American women are asserting their political power like never before,” according to the analysis conducted by Lake Research Partners. The study identified that unmarried African American women typically have a less formal education, earn less money, and are more likely to be raising a child.

“African American unmarried women struggle to make ends meet and they will listen to candidates who have something to say about their lives and their hopes for the future,” said Gardner. “All of the primaries and caucuses so far have seen high numbers of unmarried women coming to the polls. African Americans vote more than any other group of unmarried women, and will be a vital bloc of voters in upcoming race in South Carolina, Florida and other states on February 5.”

In New Hampshire, unmarried women voted in historic numbers, accounting for 22 percent Democratic primary voters—equal to their overall share in the population as a whole. Significantly more unmarried women in New Hampshire voted in the primary than voted in the 2006 general elections. In Iowa, unmarried women accounted for 28 percent of all Democratic caucus goers – a considerably larger proportion than their share of the overall state (22 percent).

“Unmarried women have historically been the country’s largest group of non-voters, yet they are highly motivated to make their voices heard in 2008,” noted Gardner.

Unmarried women are also proving to be the pivotal voters. Exit surveys show a 32-point difference between Iowa and New Hampshire among unmarried women, one of the highest swings of any major demographic subgroups. In Iowa, Senator Obama captured the single women’s vote by 13 points (40 percent for Obama to 27 percent for Clinton), while in New Hampshire, Clinton won single women by 19 points (51 percent for Clinton to 32 percent for Obama). Unmarried women were 12 percent of the Republican electorate, and were half of John McCain's margin of victory in New Hampshire. Marital status has not been asked in all of the primaries and caucuses.

“Our research shows us, and the first races have confirmed unmarried women are extremely motivated to participate in the 2008 elections, and make their voices heard in the 2008 races,” said Gardner. “African American unmarried women will support the candidate who addresses their economic concerns and will help them provide a strong community for their families.

For the first time in history, nationally there are as many unmarried women – single, separated, divorced, widowed – as there are married women. There are 53 million unmarried women in the country, and they account for 26% of eligible voters. However, compared to their married sisters, unmarried women are 9 percentage points less likely to register, and 13 percentage points less likely to vote. Marital status is one of the top four determinants of whether an individual will vote.

Women’s Voices Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to activate unmarried women to participate in their government and in our democracy. With a goal of registering over 1 million unmarried women to vote, WVWV is currently conducting an aggressive mail registration program, and sponsoring the “20 Million Reasons to Vote” Public Service Announcements. The PSAs feature stars such as Jurnee Smollett, Christine Lahti and Julia Louis Dreyfus, and are set in the Oval Office, evoking the importance of having women’s voices heard and their power felt in electing candidates to every office. The PSAs are visible at wvwv.org.