New Poll Shows Voters Want Economic Security, Including Earned Sick Days

A new national poll sampling 1,200 voters from last week's election shows that paid sick days wins in Massachusetts, Oakland, Montclair, and Trenton represent the public's desire for workplace policies that create economic security.

This poll showed that 81% of voters say it is important for lawmakers to consider policies like paid sick days and paid family/medical leave. Here's more on the poll from our friends at the National Partnership for Women & Families:

• Strong support for family friendly policies across party and demographic lines: 96 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents, 73 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of women, 75 percent of men, 95 percent of voters under 30, 97 percent of African Americans and 95 percent of Latinos said it is important for lawmakers to consider new family friendly workplace laws.

• Widespread concerns about serious medical or caregiving needs resulting in financial hardship: An overwhelming majority of voters, across demographic and party lines, said they or their families would likely face significant financial hardship if they had a serious illness, had to care for a family member with a serious illness, or had a new child: 66 percent said it is likely, and more than one-third (36 percent) said it is “very likely.”

• Approval of candidates who express support for policies that promote families’ economic security: Nearly two-thirds of voters (64 percent) said that an elected official’s support for equal pay for women, paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave would make them more likely to vote for that elected official, including nearly half (46 percent) who said they would be much more likely to cast a favorable vote.

The poll of 2014 voters was commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families and the Rockefeller Family Fund.

The topline results of the bipartisan poll commissioned by the National Partnership and the Rockefeller Family Fund can be found here: www.NationalPartnership.org/2014ElectionPoll.

A memo summarizing the results of the National Partnership’s candidate website analysis can be found here: www.NationalPartnership.org/2014CandidateWebsites.