The National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) and Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP) have both released reports citing the importance of the women’s and youth votes, respectively, this election. Confirming the results of the May 2006 Ms. magazine poll that found women are more likely to be anti-war, NCRW‘s poll found that candidates who favor bringing the troops home from Iraq have a nearly three-to-one advantage among women voters than candidates who favor keeping the troops deployed. According to the poll results, 59 percent of women favor candidates who will bring the troops home, while 21 percent of women oppose such candidates. Black and Latina women are more likely to be opposed to the war; NCRW found that 83 percent of black women and 68 percent of Latina women are more likely to vote for an anti-war candidate. NCRW President Linda Basch said of women’s strong anti-war presence this November, “This is across the board, in every section of the country, in ciites and rural areas, across racial divides, American women say they’re ready to vote for get-out-of-Iraq candidates against stay-in-Iraq candidates.”
Harvard University’s IOP also released a survey yesterday, which found that young voters oppose the war in Iraq, favor a change in Congressional leadership, and plan on voting in the November 7 election. In an online survey of 2,546 18-24-year-olds, IOP found that young people disapprove of President Bush’s job, awarding him with an average grade of “C-” on seven key issues: terrorism, education, the environment, jobs and the economy, health care, illegal immigration, and the war in Iraq. On this last issue, the average grade was a “D+.” Additionally, the national IOP poll found that 32 percent plan on “definitely” voting in this midterm election. According to IOP, this would “likely amount to the highest turnout percentage for this age group in any midterm election in the last 20 years.”
LEARN MORE about the Feminist Majority Foundation’s project to Get Out HER Vote.
