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.